Mobile Suit Gundam SEED:A Twisted Universe
by Skywalker6119
Summary: The universe is such a fragile thing. The smallest of changes can twist it's fabric and create whole new realities. Needless to say, massive changes are incredibly damaging. Chapter 8 up in time for the Anniversary. Thanks, loyal readers! Please review.
1. Falling Stars

-1Mobile Suit Gundam SEED:A Twisted Universe

Chapter 1:Falling Stars

Written By Skywalker6119

Disclaimer: Gundam SEED is owned by Bandai and not me.

Introduction: This is an AU fanfic of the Cosmic Era. It takes place at the same time as Gundam SEED and features all of the main characters, but is a very different telling of a similar story.

>Note: Since this is a Twisted Universe, some names will be wrong or mixed up, along with certain character's personalities.

The year is Cosmic Era 71. Tensions between the ZAFT organization and the Earth Alliance have broken into full-scale war. With their great numbers, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the Earth Alliance would quickly end the war. However, such assumptions were proved wrong, when ZAFT revealed its new weapon, the mobile suit, supplementing it's shrinking contingent of advanced mobile armors. Almost driven from space by the new weapon, the Alliance initiates a military takeover of the nation of Aube and its Morgenroete Inc. R&D facilities. On February 19th, CE 70, the Aube Union officially surrenders after a month of hard fighting. Most of the noble families are executed or imprisoned, and protests from citizens of Aube are silenced by force. New mobile armors were rolled out of production facilities, buying the Alliance time as research continued into mobile suit technology. Now the Earth Alliance is close to completing it's prototype mobile suits, and ZAFT knows this. Faced with this, they launch an invasion of Aube, to capture or destroy the new mobile suits.

* * *

The smoking wreckage of two GiNN mobile suits lay along the forest path, as teams of men and women worked to salvage useable parts. Suddenly, a GiNN dropped onto the road, aiming it's gun at the salvagers and opening fire, one shot at a time. The people scattered, running as explosions lit the woods in huge blazes of fire.

"Little vermin like you should stay hidden in your holes!" the pilot shouted.

A sudden burst of fire rang out from behind the GiNN, hitting it in the back and throwing it down to the ground. "What! Where'd that come from?" Another shot rang out, severing the GiNNs left arm. A dark figure rose up from the forest, oddly misshapen and pitted with scars and burn marks. As the GiNN struggled to rise, a thin rapier appeared in the figure's left hand. It thrust the rapier forward, thrusting under the thruster pack and stabbing into the cockpit, slicing through the frail human body of the pilot.

------------------------

A black-suited young man stepped down from the cockpit of the mysterious mobile suit, to rousing cheers and applause. His violet eyes surveyed the scene, where the GiNN wreckage was being carried away by large flatbed trucks. He couldn't have been more then sixteen years old.

"Great job Kira!" A young red-haired girl, wearing a simple jumpsuit, ran to him, embracing him. Kira Yamato smiled and hugged her back. _Flay's always waiting for me._ "Thanks, Flay. It wasn't that hard, I think ZAFT's sending all their worst pilots at us, as if we weren't a threat." He laughed, and Flay laughed with him. But their laughter soon trailed off, and Flay took on a serious countenance. "Commander Kisaka wants to speak to you. It's about the new Alliance mobile suits. He'll be waiting back at camp." Flay gently kissed Kira on the cheek before returning to her work, and Kira got into the misshapen mobile suit once more, turning south, to the small mountain range on the southern edge of the main island.

------------------------

Above the nation of Aube, in space, a fierce space battle ensued. The ZAFT Nazca-class ship _Vesalius_ and it attendant mobile suits fought a desperate battle to protect the transport ship _Le Nemo _against the overwhelming force that had been thrown at them. Two _Drake-class_ ships and the _Nelson-class_ battleship _Troy_ were fighting fiercely with the _Vesalius_, having already lost three other ambush ships. _Le Nemo _struggled to evade the fire coming at it from the Troy as it slid into Earth's atmosphere. Behind it, Lieutenant Cagalli Yula Atha of the 15th Autonomous Flight Corp slid in smoothly behind it, sighting the main cargo pod of the ship with her Scorpio's main guns. The two bulbous pods at the ends of the Scorpio's main wings had the barrels of a linear gun embedded within each, while it's secondary wing, extending from the ventral aft section of the machine, was equipped with a 75mm Vulcan gun. As the lead pilot of the 15th, she was an ace pilot, already credited with the shooting down of three ZAFT mobile suits.

She fired, and fired again. As the pod shattered, and bodies flew out into the vacuum of space, she was silent. She felt no remorse. She was a warrior, a mobile armor pilot. They were enemies. But tears still formed in her eyes as she remembered other times she had killed, first in the skies over Aube, then in space. A sudden, jarring impact threw her out of her reverie. "Where the hell did that come from?" Another shot hit her, blowing off the port wing. She twisted and swerved, desperately trying to get into a position to retaliate, but her enemy hit her again and again, tearing off armor and breaking off wings. If she didn't act soon, she would be weaponless and helpless. "Augh!" she shouted in frustration. This guy was good.

Rau Le Creuset smiled. His little toy was losing it's entertainment value, so he would soon put it out of her misery. _It's too bad that Mwu wasn't my opponent. It would make things much more exciting. _But then, the transport might have been destroyed much sooner. Giving thanks for small blessings, he sighted his gun at the cockpit of the fighter. "Wait a second…" _Wasn't I behind the fighter? Then how…_ Suddenly, it hit him. He had been distracted, and the pilot had taken advantage of his pause to begin her own attack run. Indeed, while this was going through his head, the Scorpio's remaining Vulcan gun opened fire on him, gouging his armor. As Cagalli turned around for another pass, Rau fired rapidly at the armor, hitting it's engines. The fighter started a nosedive towards the atmosphere, and Cagalli was unconscious. The _Le Nemo _had managed to release the other landing pods, and was breaking for the _Vesalius. Now it's time to finish the job. The sooner I get back to the Vesalius, the better. It seems as if I'll have to increase the dosage once I get back. _

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Athrun Zala waited patiently in his crash chair, only slightly bothered by the G-forces and heat that he felt. The other members of the Zala team were silent, relaxed even. Nicol Amalfi, Dearka Elsman, Miguel Aiman and Yzak Joule sat beside him, gripping their safety bars and staring at the main monitor, showing their trajectory data, while the rest of the 10-man team sat behind them. Athrun thought back to the briefing on the PLANT._ The mission was so simple. But we've already been set back so far. How could this have happened? Lacus, I **will** keep my promise to you._

_Flashback_

"…Given the information we have received about the specifications of the prototypes, we believe they boast combat abilities equal to or superior to the CGUE Command Suit. The Zala Team will ambush the convoy en route to the Kaguya Mass Driver, whilst the Morassim Team runs interference, distracting the convoy guards. Meanwhile, you will approach the trailers, taking out any areas of resistance. You will capture as many suits as you can, then destroy what cannot be secured. After that, you will return to Vesuvius Base and remain on station for as long as the council sees fit, though I suspect that you'll be sent back here to the PLANTS. Any questions?" Dearka raised his hand. "Why do we need to capture them? They're not even finished with the OS yet, and five mobile suits aren't any threat to us." He smirked. Commander Le Creuset responded with a smile. "Knowledge is power, Dearka. If the reports are to be believed, these five mobile suits could drive us off the Earth by themselves when complete. Fortunately, the Naturals can't pilot them effectively yet, so we have the advantage. And if we do capture them and bring them back, we will have gained a distinct tactical advantage. We could bring an end to this war much sooner then predicted. Anything else? No? Then you are all dismissed."

Lacus was waiting for him outside the base, in the nearby park, with her pink Haro. She had a worried look, and was trembling slightly. "Athrun, are you going back into battle again?" She smiled slightly, but Athrun saw that it was a forced smile. They had known each other for so long, and where others saw foolish optimism or detachment from reality, he could see through all her fronts, all the lies that she showed to others.

"Of course I am, Lacus. I'm a soldier," he said as gently as he could. "I always go out to fight, to protect the PLANTs, to protect father… to protect you… I always come back, just to see your beautiful face, your bright smile, to hear your wonderful voice." He sat down nest to her on the bench. "I always return."

"But that was in space, close to home! On Earth, we only have a tentative foothold. What if you're taken prisoner! How am I supposed to get you back?" Tears leaked out of Lacus' eyes as Athrun closed his hands around hers, fingers entwining.

"Lacus, I promise. I will come back."

"You promise?"

"I do. I promise with the power of my love, and I seal it with this kiss." His lips met hers, locking together and they embraced one another, tears flowing openly between them as the artificial sun sank below the horizon beyond the trees.

_End Of Flashback_

Now Athrun wasn't sure he could keep that promise. ZAFTs foothold on Aube was tenuous, with rebellions and Alliance attacks to deal with. The plan relied on having the Morassim Team run interference with their mobile suits, and now they were gone. All gone. Killed by that Scorpio pilot. And the few mobile suits in Aube had their hands full trying to keep the Alliance from overrunning Vesuvius. _How will this all end?_

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_It's so hot today. I forgot the sunscreen again. The sand, the water, everything is reflecting the sun… I hope Father isn't burned as badly as I am._

_**Fire, burning. The house, Kisaka, Gone. Everywhere, screams! Father, burned, DEAD! Black, Flame, On fire! Walking, closer, FATHER!**_

_Cagalli, why did you BETRAY ME! He isn't my Father. Father wouldn't say that. Father loves me. I loved you Cagalli! You betrayed me! US! Kisaka, wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, Mother, a skeletal mother, a bloody knife. I didn't betray you Father! AVENGE US! Father, Fire, Grabbing, Hugging, BURNING! Father! You're Burning Me! Father! _

**"FATHER!" **Cagalli cried out, screaming at the pain, the fiery pain. The cockpit, everything was red. Outside, there was red, and blue. _Blue? What could that be? The Earth! The ocean! I'm falling into the atmosphere!_ The warning klaxons were suddenly heard, reason finally squirming from it's hiding place. Cagalli struggled, reaching a handle marked 'HT. SHIELD'. She pulled it out and turned in 90 degrees before pushing it back in.

All over the Scorpio, armor plates popped out. Many jammed halfway, but most closed fully over the vital areas of the ship. Soon, the temperature in the cockpit dropped to tolerable levels, though it was still warm. Cagalli sat there, panting with exhaustion and dripping with sweat. _The dream again. It was the same as the first time, after I joined the Alliance…_ The memories of Aube, burning in flames, her father's burned and charcoal body, still alight. Always asking for vengeance, to avenge the country upon those petty politicians who had destroyed it. And Kisaka and Mother were always there, with Father. Sometimes her friends were there, servants, people she had seen but never known. There was never peace in her sleep, as the dreams got worse the more she killed. But now, the first dream. It was back. And it was the most fearful.

She realized that she was crying, and shivering. She stopped herself, with great effort and looked at her radar screen. An island was coming up, several dozen miles ahead and two miles down. She leveled out, setting her course for it.

Or she tried to. Her controls were dead, she was in freefall, her engines uncontrolled. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable crash, the fire as she slammed into the mountain. It didn't come.

The Scorpio zoomed over the Kaguya Spaceport, throwing out sonic booms as it whipped past. Alliance officers were baffled by the meteorite, tracking it until

it's crash on the southern peninsula of Aube's main island, Uroboros, deep in rebel territory. ZAFT had tracked the object as well, and had sent out a search party. The Alliance base on Uroboros had dispatched their own search party, while monitoring the other "falling stars" headed for Uroboros. They landed near ZAFT's Vesuvius Base without any problems.

Cagalli's sleep was peaceful for once. She didn't know that her ship had been found, nor that the encounter would change her life. She didn't know how she would change so much in the world, or how important she was. She just dreamed. She didn't dream of fire and the dead. She dreamed of a beautiful, rolling field of flowers, a lake at the foot of the hill where she lay, lying by someone, a shadow of a person, who radiated a sense of peace. She knew that he understood her, cared for her, and that she wanted to be with him forever.

Athrun Zala slept. His fears disturbed his dreams. He saw Lacus, holding a light blue Haro and crying, kneeling. He saw soldiers, breaking into the room and gunning her down, and he saw his picture, a memorial altar, falling, riddled with bullets. His cries went unanswered, her body lying there, as everything went dark, as a brilliant ray of multicolored light lanced out, hitting the blue Haro, breaking apart and crumbling to dust.

Kira Yamato slept. He dreamt of wide open skies, brilliantly blue. He soared through them, alone, heading for a brilliant light. He saw storm clouds on the horizon. They came closer, enveloping him. He saw people, some he knew, some he didn't. He saw their faces as he fell, crying out for him as he reached for them, falling into the black void.

* * *

That's the chapter 1 edit. Not much was changed. But to clarify, Kira and Flay will not be a couple in this story. Check mahq . Net for information on the Drake and Nelson class ships. I'll post a link to an image of the Scorpio when I can. There will be more back-story in the story summary of Chapter 6. 


	2. Meetings and Preperations

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: A Twisted Universe

Chapter 2:Meetings and Preparations

Written by Skywalker6119

Disclaimer: Gundam is owned by Bandai and not by me.

Introduction: Old friends meet, and new friendships come to the fore. The strands of destiny come closer, as people prepare themselves for what lies ahead.

>Note: Since this is a Twisted Universe, some names will be wrong or mixed up, along with certain character's personalities.

* * *

Cagalli was jerked roughly out of her sleep when she felt someone tugging at her safety harness. She opened her eyes, groggily looking at the young man who was pulling her out of the cockpit of her wrecked fighter. He was dressed in a pair of badly-fitting military fatigues and an oversized green sweater. His hair was a light brown/tan, and he had a broken pair of orange glasses on his face. He looked really young, no older then Cagalli, yet his face had the look of one of those veterans she had seen at the Lunar Base.

_Where am I? The last thing I remember was that white mobile suit hitting me, and then…nothing. Is he a member of the rescue team? But where's his space suit, and why's he having such trouble getting the harness off? _Suddenly, she noticed the small handgun clutched in the boy's left hand. She struggled, releasing the harness the boy had been struggling with and leaping at him.

He jumped back, dodging her attack, and aimed his gun at her, "Hold it right there. The Commander told me not to hurt you if I could, but I won't hesitate to shoot." Cagalli stared into his hard eyes, and saw the determination there. Still, if she could just…

It was then that she noticed where she was. All around her, there were people, in simple, dirty clothes, moving weapons and ammo, standing guard, playing cards. It looked like a military base. And everyone there carried side arms. She slowly raised her hands in a gesture of surrender.

"That's better. Now come on," he said as he waved his gun towards a small, low bunker, "let's go. You are officially a prisoner of the Aube Front-line Liberation Army. And you'll be staying in Cell Block A, with the rest of the Alliance Prisoners." He spat out the word 'Alliance', as if it were something unclean and disgusting.

"Wait a second," Cagalli asked, puzzled. "Aube is a free nation. We joined the Alliance, and they protect us from ZAFT. Why do you call yourselves the 'Liberation Army'?" As she spoke, she reflected on her words. Of course the Earth Alliance initiated a hostile takeover of the Aube Union, she had fought against them in those battles, but there was no reason for anyone to be disgruntled over the past. She had put those memories long behind her. (Though her subconscious hadn't.) She glanced around quizzically. All these people, fighting for Aube, her home. And yet she fought with the Alliance, those who had ripped her life from her hands, destroyed her country, and still she had joined them, to protect Aube and the Earth.

" Aube is not free. It will never be free until we've expelled the Alliance and freed our kingdom. Now get moving."

As Cagalli walked towards the prison cell, a sudden light-headedness broke through her thoughts. The world spun around her as she collapsed into a heap on the ground, her head burning with fire as she slipped into unconsciousness.

------------------------

Kira stepped into the main ops room of the A.F.L.A, which was hidden deep within he southern-most volcano of Uroboros, now extinct. Several halogen lamps, strung along the walls, provided lighting for the fifteen staff officers in the room, either sitting at their computers or working out strategies on the map in the center of the room. Commander Ledonir Kisaka and his First lieutenant, Sahib Ashman, were seated at the head of the table. Both appeared to have come from desert areas, but their physical builds were very different. Sahib was about a half a head shorter then Kisaka, and had a short, brown, rough beard. Kisaka, on the other hand, was fairly tall, over six feet, and his hair, which was unusually long, was an ashen gray. A prosthetic arm, taken from a cargo loader suit, replaced his left arm, and he had a dark burn scar running down the left side of his face.

"Commander, Kira Yamato, reporting as ordered. It's good to see, First Lieutenant," he said, nodding to the both of them.

"Nice to see you too, Kira. I heard you took out three more GiNNs today. We might just be able to build another mobile suit from them. But now to business. The commander has some important data to brief you on."

Commander Kisaka nodded to Kira, and indicated to a cluster of plastic trucks on the map. "Kira, as you're aware, the Alliance will be transporting their prototype mobile suits from the capitol city of Izumo to the spaceport on Kaguya. Our plan was to raid the convoy at sea, with what few submersibles we still had. However, something's come up."

He indicated to the ZAFT Vesuvius Base. "Our spies in ZAFT have reported that a mobile suit team from the PLANTs has landed at Vesuvius. They have been kept isolated from the rest of the base, but they are most likely there to steal the prototype mobile suits. Therefore, we must step up our timetable a little bit. We are going to hit them where they would least expect it. At Morgenroete."

Kira interrupted. "Sir, wouldn't it be easier to let ZAFT distract the Alliance forces first, and then move in? Assaulting Morgenroete won't be easy."

The commander smiled. "ZAFT isn't going to lose this battle. They'll send all their forces if they have to, but they will succeed in capturing or destroying those mobile suits. And we'll want those suits, trust me."

Kira nodded. "Then what's the battle strategy, sir?"

------------------------

"…So half of your team, Mr. Zala, will pilot the remaining mobile suits of the Morassim team, with support from the two DiNNs we have on base, drawing away the attention of the escort units. Meanwhile, the 1st Armored Fists squad will provide covering fire as you infiltrate Onogoro's main hanger complex. You will then return to this bas as soon as possible. You cannot stick around for any reason whatsoever. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Then you're dismissed."

Athrun saluted, and walked out of the conference room, a deep, sinking feeling in his stomach. _Attacking Onogoro. What are they thinking? _Athrun ran over the map of Onogoro in his head, not liking how the plan was set up. _If only commander Le Creuset were here, then we wouldn't have this hair-brained scheme. Attacking the Alliance's Research and Development hangars with such a small force is suicidal._ He sighed. He would never figure out military bureaucracy.

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Cagalli Yula Atha lay in the Hospice room of the A.L.F.A, behind a high-tension glass window. Various tubes and wires were inserted into her body, as readouts displayed the status of her vital functions across various monitors. Her breathing was ragged and shallow, and the thermometer showed her body temperature at 105° Fahrenheit.

Outside the room, Kisaka stood, watching, a worried expression on his face. _Cagalli… Why? Why did you join the Earth forces? I had thought you dead. But now you turn up here, alive, as a lieutenant no less. You always were surprising me._ Beside him, a doctor prattled on about "heat tolerance" and "atmospheric radiation", but Kisaka ignored him. "Very good, doctor. Just make sure she lives through this. We may have a use for her later." With that, he turned his back on the doctor, headed for the hangar.

The Cave, as it was known, wasn't much of a hangar as it was a vehicle graveyard. Much of the space in the Cave was cluttered with wrecked linear tanks, destroyed HELO mobile armors, and parts from ZAFT mobile suits. On the right wall, various combat vehicles salvaged from the Independence War sat, in various working conditions. A few HELO mobile armors were there as well, but the real treasures of the resistance stood on the left wall. Two standard GiNN suits stood at attention towards the front of the cave, painted a matte black and covered in dents and scorch marks. A little further in was the wreck of a half-restored DiNN. And finally, a battered, misshapen mobile suit stood, a sawed-off M1001 shotgun in it's left hand and a standard GiNN machine gun in it's right. It's head and chest cockpit had come from a CGUE that had been unfortunate enough to be captured and cannibalized by the A.L.F.A, while it's arms and legs had come from two different GiNN mobile suits. On it's back, a thruster pack from a DiNN had been attached. Despite it's rickety look, the mobile suit was every bit as tough as it's pilot. Indeed, Kira Yamato was quite tough, once knocking out Ahmed, Sahib's assistant and student, with a single punch. _Ahmed…_Ahmed was a fiery boy, and had been on the high school boxing team before the invasion. And he had trained with Sahib since then, and prided himself on being unattached and strong. Yet Kira… so young, and frail, had knocked him out so easily. He smiled. _Coordinators really are superior to us in every way._

------------------------

Cagalli slowly opened her eyes. She felt so weak, all the energy and fire drained from her body. The room was so bright at first, but as she looked around, things became more bearable. _I'm in a hospital room… this equipment, it's five years old… _She saw movement from the corner of her eye. A young boy was leaving the room. He had light brown skin, and his hair was an odd shad of red-brown. "Wait…" He turned, and she saw his piercing brown eyes, deep as wells yet sharper then daggers. "The commander will want to talk to you. He won't be long. Till then, just relax and get some rest." With those words, he left the room, leaving an odd feeling in Cagalli's stomach, as she collapsed once more into the soft pillows.

A little while later, Cagalli awoke with a start. She looked at the clock on the wall above the door. She'd slept for nearly four hours.

"Oh good, you're awake. The commander was a little worried about you, just falling asleep like that. But you've been through a lot, haven't you?"

Cagalli turned to the voice, surprisingly soft. The boy who had been there earlier was sitting next to her bed, a slight smile on her face. Her face felt hot as she looked at that smile, and turned away quickly, looking at the man who had just walked through the door. His indigo uniform was patched and frayed, and covered in dirt. An armored vest lay atop it, and an empty gun holster was attached to his belt. _The face…the uniform…he looks familiar…_ "Kisaka!"

"Thank you, Ahmed, you may leave."

As the door closed, Kisaka smiled, and walked over to Cagalli, then hugging her tightly. "Cagalli. It's good to see you again." He slowly let go and leaned back.

Cagalli looked at his face, seeing the wrinkles and the scar, and the age that afflicted him. "Kisaka, you look so different…and you're alive! I thought that…"

"That the Earth forces had killed me at Kaguya? Maybe they did. I'm not who I once was, so strong and ready to protect Aube…To protect you."

Cagalli looked around at the room, no windows, and all the old equipment. "Where am I, Kisaka? That kid called you 'Commander'… Do you run this place? Why didn't you join the Earth forces if you survived? I'm sure you would have been welcomed… And it would have been great, knowing you were there with me…"

Kisaka sighed, and looked at the ceiling. "Much has changed Cagalli." He looked back at her. "And so much must be answered. Look at me. I did not survive the battle. I'm a hollow shell of myself." He took off his vest, then his jacket. Cagalli gasped at what she saw. The burn on his face traveled down his body, growing larger. It was covered in scabs and the pink of raw flesh. Across his stomach, there was a web of stitches. And over the right side of his chest, there was a plate of iron, and a patch of bio-skein, which was slightly, so slightly, rising and falling with his breath. "The Alliance killed me, and I rose from the dead to haunt them. I can never join them. But I'm surprised you did. You cannot tell anyone that you were born here in Aube."

"Why?"

"Because the others would kill you. You would be a traitor in their eyes, who betrayed Aube to the Alliance. So, for once, think before you speak. But I have a lot to tell you, and I'm sure you have a lot to tell me."

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A majestic white shape crossed the sea, it's destination, a small island, in the distance. A blonde-haired man stood on the observation deck, leaning against the railing. A pale woman with cold, lavender eyes, was in a hangar, looking at the sleek, sharp machine there. On the island, a woman with long, silky brown hair looked at the approaching ship, a smile on her lips. Behind her, large trailer vans moved, their contents hidden. All around, there were military escorts moving about, looking for any sign of an attack. But the woman's eyes were focused on the approaching ship. "The _Archangel_…"

* * *

That's the edited version of Chapter 2. Only a couple of spelling checks, no major story changes. Expect more from the Chapter 5 edit. Thank you for reading and waiting for more of the story. 


	3. Take the Prize

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: A Twisted Universe

Chapter 3: Take the Prize

Written by Skywalker6119

Disclaimer: Gundam is owned by Bandai and not by me.

Introduction: Both ZAFT and AFLA plot their attacks on the Earth Alliance Onogoro R&D labs. Kira has an unexpected meeting, and Cagalli gets experiences some strange feelings.

Note: Since this is a Twisted Universe, some names will be wrong or mixed up, along with certain character's personalities.

* * *

Ahmed glanced across the hangar bay, his eyes following the shape of a blonde-haired girl, watching and staring as she pulled on pulley cable, dragging along the GiNNs arm over to the hodgepodge already being assembled. _She's so strong…and beautiful… and…_ He blushed at the thoughts playing over in his head and quickly glanced back at his work. A large pallet of ammunition was hooked up to a similar roof pulley, and he felt a sudden fatigue at the distance between the pallet and the tank it was going to. _Better get back to work… _He glanced back at Cagalli, and felt a new strength enter his limbs. _If a girl as cute as her can do this, so can I._ He grasped the cable with blistered palms and tugged, pulled, struggled, to lift the weight and pull it along. In ten minutes, he hadn't gone very far, with most of his strength squandered on merely concentrating on the task at hand. He felt another person grab hold of the cable behind him, and he turned to see who it was.

"D'you need some help with this?" Cagalli had grasped the cable in both hands, spreading them about shoulder width apart, her feet placed closed together but in a stance that said _I'm ready whenever you are._

Ahmed felt a blush coming over his face. "Uh, yeah sure. I…em…really appreciate it." He quickly turned back to the ammunition, hiding his blush from Cagalli. "On 3. 1...2...3!" They tugged on the pulley as one, slowly dragging it along it's track the ammo swinging and swaying below it. _I should have asked for some help in the first place._

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Kira Yamato looked at the towering machines above him. Dozens of people were scurrying over the newly-rebuilt GiNNs and DiNNs, hastily attaching wires and cutting off loose chunks of shattered armor. All around, people were working, hurrying to prepare for the mission that was about to start. He himself was hanging upside down from the roof, rewiring the control circuits of a nearly complete GiNN. Below him, his friend Tolle was dragging ammunition boxes towards one of the linear tanks that had survived Aube's subjugation, his girlfriend Miriallia working just as hard alongside him.

"Kira! It's time for you to take a break!" Flay called out from below, waving at him. Her clothes were stained with oil and grease, but she was just as cute as ever.

"Thanks, but I think I'll finish this first," he said, indicating to the mess of wires that were strewn about the cockpit. "I'll meet you later at the mess."

"Okay then! I'll be waiting!" She waved good-bye and walked away, her red hair swinging behind her. Kira followed her retreating form with a wistful gaze until an unexpected **_smack! _**hit the back of his head. "Oy! Pay attention to your work and not your girlfriend." Sai Argyle dangled in the air a few feet away from Kira, a shattered

fiber-optic control cable wrapped around his left arm.

"Jeez, Sai. Did you have to hit so hard?" Kira winced, rubbing the rapidly rising bump on his head.

"Well, you should have been paying more attention to where you were putting that targeting circuit and not Flay. Sometimes you need some motivation, Kira. Your mind is always wondering off when you're working."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Sai. You just want to steal Flay back from me while I'm distracted, " he retorted, hastily pulling the circuit away from the ejector socket and putting it in it's rightful place. But he knew that Sai was only playing with him, and just turned back to his work, doubling his efforts. _After we capture those mobile suits, I won't have to kill anymore. I can live in peace, without all the dreams, and constant fighting. I can be at peace again. And with Flay…_ These thoughts gave him more motivation then Sai's little bonk on the head, and Kira put those Coordinator abilities of his to good work, finishing what would have taken him half an hour in ten minutes. He quickly dropped to the floor, slid off his harness, and rushed to the mess hall.

------------------------

When Kira got there, the mess hall was rather empty, with only a few people sitting around, eating by themselves. Flay was nowhere to be seen. _Where'd she go? It's not like her to disappear like this._ A sudden giggle distracted him from his worried thoughts.

Walking into the mess, Ahmed was talking to Cagalli, both of them smiling little smiles. "…And then Kira hit me right here," Ahmed said, indicating to the center of his forehead; "With just his fore and middle fingers, and I just blacked out. The next think I knew, I was lying on the ground staring into the sky, with half of the compound looking at me." He laughed.

Cagalli laughed too. "You must be really weak to have been taken down like that. Eh?" She paused, looking back at Kira, who was looking at the pair with a weird look on his face, as if he was trying to hold in a smile or more.

"Oh, hey Kira!" Ahmed waved a little bit, then turned to Cagalli. "This is Kira Yamato. He's the guy I was telling you about."

Cagalli raised her eyebrows quizzically. "He doesn't look that strong_. I _could probably beat him without any trouble."

Kira and Ahmed both laughed raucously, doubling over with their arms wrapped around their stomachs as most of the other people in the mess started laughing too. Their laughter rolled around the massive room, blending together and taking strength, almost gaining a life of it's own. This went on until Cagalli shouted, her voice full of anger, "Would _someone please tell me WHAT IN THE WORLD IS SO FUNNY!"_ _What is it bout men that make them such arrogant idiots? I bet they don't think I could beat this Kira person, well, I'll show them. I'll show them how much stronger I am then this jerk. _

Ahmed got up from the floor, still shaking with laughter. "I-I-f you-u think--hehehe…that you can beat Kira-a one-o-o-n-one…hahaha…I'll buy you dinner…in the city…hahaha!" Ahmed's mind raced as he listened to what he was saying. _Hold on! If we went to the city together, just like that, it would look to everyone else like I was dating her! And she used to be an Alliance soldier too! But Kisaka trusts her… and she's not all that bad either… _

"Fair enough. I look forward to some real food, and not those MREs you guys keep in those storage closets." With those words, Cagalli rushed Kira, catching him by surprise and knocking him to the ground. But Kira had pulled her down with him, and held her down, grabbing her arms and holding her close, with just a hint, a barest hint, of an intimacy that Kira did not feel. But Cagalli obviously felt it, a blush spreading across her face and surprise leaping into her eyes. But that quickly turned to fury. "Let go of me, you JERK!" She lifted him bodily over her back, and flipped him over before he had a chance to even shout in surprise. The move brought her on top of Kira, and she held him down as someone in the audience counted to a surprised,

"…Nine…t…e…n. She beat Kira….it was less then five minutes and she beat him…" His voice was a startled whisper. The atmosphere in the room was one of startled surprise, and pride, the image of the new girl beating Kira, the second-best close-combat fighter in five minutes simply paralyzed their minds. Even Kisaka had taken more then twice as long to beat Kira, and here, this girl, this…person had beat him so easily…

Kira started laughing again. "Well, Ahmed, looks like you're new girlfriend won. I hope you're date doesn't go as badly as this fight did, hahaha." And Kira slipped out of Cagalli's hold with such ease, that it became apparent that Kira hadn't been trying to win at all, he had been planning to lose the entire time.

"What? Girlfriend? Hold on a minute, Kira. You lost. On purpose. Because…you thought that she…I…we…? What!"

"It's written all over you face, Ahmed. And hers too," Kira replied, pointing at her beet red face. "Congrats Ahmed, you finally got yourself a girl…Woo, she's a keeper for sure…Take care of him, new g- Cagalli!" Comments like these floated around as a startled Cagalli and Ahmed were congratulated on their "relationship", while Kira walked away with Flay, who had just walked through the doorway, explaining to Kira that she had been called by Kisaka to discuss some of the plans for the attack. _Well, it looks like we're going to get together, whether we want to or not. Is it fate?_

------------------------

_2 days later…_

Athrun Zala peered into the barrel of his machine gun again for the twentieth time in five minutes. Dearka, and Yzak were cool as cucumbers, deep in thought as they lay down within the tight confines of the Deep-water Assault Rocket-propelled Transport.(1) Nicol and Rustie were deep in a whispered conversation, contents unknown. The submarine carrier _Crusoe _waited about thirty miles offshore of Onogoro Island, awaiting the "Go" signal from ZAFTs Vesuvius base.

This signal came five minutes later, with the launching of two DiNN mobile suits, the vibrations from the launchers rattling the Zala Team. Dearka smiled. "Look's like we're going to get some action after all. I was starting to wonder if the mission had been aborted by those bureaucratic officers at Vesuvius. Well, lets get going then."

Each member of the Zala team were unfamiliar with the configuration of the DARTs, the double-person craft having been newly commissioned. The ten-man Zala team split up, Dearka and Yzak, Nicol and Athrun, then Rustie and one of the bodyguard members. Everyone knew how dangerous it was to use DARTs. It was like riding inside a large missile, with about the same destructive force if the DART landed the wrong way.

As soon as they were both strapped in, Athrun and Nicol were sealed by the launch crew, who wished the pair "Good luck," as darkness descended on the two.

"You nervous, Athrun?"

"Not really. Though I hope that the gunners don't mistake us for a missile when they fire us. That would be really painful," he joked. "If you're wondering about the mission though, I wouldn't worry about it. We'll definitely succeed."

"You're right. Let's do this!" Both of them stopped talking as the DART was elevated into firing position. An automated voice counted down the launch sequence.

"Five…Four…Three…Two…One…Firing." The DARTs lifted out of their missile tubes, accompanied by an array of missiles to shield them. Inside the DART, the temperature quickly soared above 120° Fareignhieght, as the transport sped through a hail of anti-missile fire, narrowly avoiding the incoming fire. _These things are really…sickening…and hot too…_

A jarring impact knocked the breath out of Athrun. He fell into unconscious for a brief moment, before slowly opening his eyes, looking out into the bright sunshine. "We made it, Athrun." Nicol smiled at him, already stepping out of the DART, unslinging his gun. Athrun quickly followed suit, just in time to see the other members of the Zala team approach them. With good fortune, everyone had made it through, and had "landed" right next to the main thoroughfare, where the mobile suit trailers of the Earth Alliance were sitting in plain view, albeit surrounded by tanks and troop carriers.

Athrun looked at the rest of his team, relaying commands through the team's radio frequency. "Move under the highway, along the forest. Then wait till the mobile suits have taken out most of the artillery. After they're done, we'll ascend using our grapplers, and capture the mobile suits. Everyone clear on that?" The team responded with a chorus of "Aye, Sir's", and the Zala team went to cover right underneath the noses of the Earth Alliance as the attack commenced.

------------------------

Kira climbed into the cockpit of the refurbished GiNN, his hand brushing a green and yellow, metallic wing, mounted atop the main monitor. It was battered and scorched, and was perforated by a single bullet hole, a wound received during Kira's first battle. _I'm sorry you had to go, Birdie. You had to protect me, and you went away, like Athrun, you left because of my mistakes._ _Athrun…I know that you're still out there, somewhere, and I WILL find you again. We promised that we would meet again…_

"Kira! Kira!" Kira's reverie was broken by the sound of Flay's voice. He looked down, at Flay, who was waving to him, a rifle slung across her back, her hair pulled into a tight ponytail, and dressed in full combat armor. _Nothing can hinder her cuteness, or grace._ "Do your best Kira! We're all rooting for you!"

"I will Flay! I promise! " He blew her a quick kiss, and she returned it, before running to a transport on the other side of the hangar. Kira sat back into the cockpit, slowly starting up the machine, hoping that it wouldn't blow up in his face as he brought the battered energy core online. _I've made too many promises to die now, so you listen to me. Don't die on me, here, killing all these people. I WON'T die until I fulfill my promise. I WON'T! _Perhaps there was some god up there, listening, or maybe he was just lucky that Sai and Tolle had known what they were doing, but the GiNN came to life, awakening from it's long slumber, as monitors flickered on, the hum of it's battery generator filling the cockpit, the legs taking their first step. "Alright! Here we go!"

------------------------

They crept across the narrow channel in a converted ferry, their artillery trucks hidden in the main hold while the soldiers hid among the passenger deck. Kira, along with Haro and Sherry; two other Coordinators in rebuilt GiNNs, traveled under the surface, walking along the dark ocean floor. Their approach took them towards the isolated west side of the island, masked by the distraction happening on Izumo.

Across the channel, the two DiNNs they had captured was reeking havoc upon the airbase, destroying anything that looked like a threat. ZAFT had launched their own force to check out the attack, and the Alliance was totally focused on the airbase, all their eyes and ears focused to the east. They didn't have time to check out the small, unimportant ferry to the west of the island, or the odd shifting of the current to the south. And so the Alliance was caught unaware when ZAFT's missiles hit the their main highway, and when dozens of rebels poured into their docks.

------------------------

The GiNN landed heavily on the highway, landing right in front of the missile carrier. Before the crew knew what was happening, Kira crushed the machine, smashing it with the remains of an Alliance tank. Haro had already been taken out by the ZAFT forces, though he had managed to take out the DiNN with him. Sherry was busy with the other one, leaving Kira a clear run at the Alliance forces. The other GiNNs had been handily taken care of, and now the path to the prototypes was open. "This is Kira. I'm going to try and break through the Alliance lines. Sherry, just keep the DiNN busy for a while, okay?"

"Got it, Kira. Save one of those prototypes for me, alright?"

"Will do. Good luck."

He activated the GiNNs boosters, propelling the GiNN through the Alliance lines, firing as he went. The scene flashed past the monitors, barely registering on his mind. _I'm going to make it. _Then, a flash of red and green. An explosion, close to the trailers. The GiNN slowed to a stop. In front of him, he saw a battle. A small battle, yet pivotal. He saw ZAFT combat suits, firing on the mechanics and soldiers guarding the trailers. _ZAFT has ground troops here? If they get to the prototypes suits, who knows what will happen?_

He knew what he had to do. He had to kill, again and again, he was always killing, for peace. _Where does this hypocrisy end? Will there ever really be peace in a world of killing? Is there an answer?_ Even as he thought these thoughts, the mobile suit shifted. It brought up its gun, the soldiers locked into it's sights.

BAM! A heavy blast shook the GiNN, rocking it and nearly toppling it. "Who hit me?" His question was answered as a bright red plane flashed overhead. It was shaped like a flying wing, the rail guns clearly visible under the blue cockpit. An insignia was displayed on the wing, a white hawk superimposed over a crescent moon, the symbol of the Earth Alliance under it. "The Hawk! That's Mwu La Flaga!" Another blast rocked the mobile suit. Warning lights were flashing everywhere as critical systems shorted out. Kira forced open the cockpit hatch, just as another shot hit the GiNN from behind. Lacking a pilot, it reeled, falling forward, Kira still in the cockpit. The ground came ever closer, but in slow motion, Kira's enhanced reflexes taking over. He leaped from the GiNN, landing five feet away in a crouch, the GiNN crashing into the road behind him, flaring into a massive fireball as he ran, towards the battle taking place ahead of him.

------------------------

Athrun Zala knelt by the body of his friend, tears filling his eyes. _Rusty…you were so close…I'll kill them…I'll kill them all! _He ran forward, crying out in fury and sadness. "RAAAAGGGGHHHH!" He fired, wildly, at the band of mechanics who were making their last stand around the two mobile suits which still sat in their trailers. The others had already taken the Duel, Buster, and Blitz, leaving the Aegis and Strike for Rusty. And now Rusty was dead.

One by one, the Alliance soldiers fell. Athrun ran towards the Aegis, and he clambered up to the cockpit. A shot rang out, hitting his machine gun. He dropped into a crouch, pulling out his sidearm. An Alliance officer stood atop the Strike, a woman. She fired again, making him duck. _On three. One…Two…_

------------------------

_Murrue Ramius, lieutenant of the Eight Fleet. I swore that I would protect these weapons, and I failed. Three times, I failed. I won't lose another one, not after all of my friends have died for them. _

The ZAFT soldier was hiding behind the Aegis, presumably getting ready to surprise her. Well, she would be ready for any thing he would do. A sudden movement caught her eye, to the left! She turned, and fired, at a … pistol. "RAAAGGGHHH!" A fierce cry came from above her. The ZAFT soldier! A knife was in he hand, and he slashed at her, cutting her left arm. She fell to her knees, staring defiantly into the surprisingly young face of her killer. But then, another surprise! Another person, in the armor of an Alliance soldier, tackled her attacker. _Who is he?_

------------------------

Kira couldn't let ZAFT control the prototypes. He saw the three weapons, with the code names Duel, Buster, and Blitz, lift off, and knew that at least one of the machines had to be captured, when he saw the woman, lying against the exhaust vent of the weapon called the Strike. A ZAFT soldier was hiding behind the Aegis, pulling out a combat knife and a pistol. He watched as the scene unfolded before him. What was he going to do? He didn't have any weapons. But if he could surprise the soldier, maybe he could get the knife away from him. So he crept around, climbing onto the mobile suit, and leapt at the red figure. "Grah!" He hit him, sending him tumbling down, till he lay on the armored cockpit of the mobile suit.

But the face through the mask, the pale skin and green eyes. The blue-black hair… "Athrun?" _No! It's impossible! _his mind cried out. But the soldier's response nearly confirmed it.

"Kira?" _What! What's Kira doing here, at an Alliance military base?_ Athrun couldn't believe that his friend, a citizen of Aube, conquered by the Alliance, would've joined them.

But their thoughts were interrupted by the bullet that passed over their heads. Murrue Ramius got up, clutching her bleeding arm. Athrun pushed Kira aside, flinging away his knife. He jumped, with the suits jetpack, towards the Aegis, and jumped down into the cockpit before Murrue could fire another shot.

Kira looked back at the woman. She was crouching by the cockpit, trying to open it with her good arm. With some trouble, she managed to get it open. Then she called at him. "Get in!" Kira climbed in, moving behind the seat as she climbed into the cockpit with him. As she started the Strike up, words lit up on the OS screen. _**G**eneral **U**nilateral **N**euro-link **D**ispersive **A**utonomic **M**aneuver… **GUNDAM**._

Outside, fires raged as a small group of rebels ran to the trailers. Ahmed looked up in amazement. Two of the machines, the Aegis and the Strike, were slowly getting up. Within the Aegis, Athrun ran through the OS screen, rebuilding the OS little by little. The same thought ran through both Kira's and Athrun's minds. _Was that…really my friend?_

* * *

I know, this chapter was really corny, and I suck at battle scenes, but please, can you review and tell me what you thought I could've done to make the chapter more lively? And for all you people who were wondering about Kira and Flay's relationship, don't worry, Kira and Flay don't stay together in my universe either.

(1) Will be referred to as DART from now on.


	4. The First Step

Here's the cleaned-up and edited Chapter 4. Sorry I was so lazy and slow in getting to it.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: A Twisted Universe

Chapter 4: The First Step of the Journey

Written by Skywalker6119

Disclaimer: Gundam is owned by Bandai and not by me.

Introduction: The AFLA has attacked Onogoro, desperate to capture or destroy the Alliance's G-Weapons; but ZAFT has beaten them to the punch. Now locked in a desperate three-way battle, Kira and the rebels of AFLA must alter their goals to simply survive.

>Note: Since this is a Twisted Universe, some names will be wrong or mixed up, along with certain character's personalities

* * *

Natarle Bagiruel staggered to her feet, coughing as smoke filled the transport. Around her, the bodies of her crewmates, riddled with bullet holes. As she staggered towards the door, a pain shot through her entire body. She looked down, and saw the blood coming from the wound on her thigh. _Damn it, _she thought as she pushed at the hatch on the roof, the pain making the job harder then necessary. _What idiot decided that you to make this dumb hatch so hard to open? First I have to pull this pin, then pull that red handle, then unlock the clasps! Then I still have to push the damn thing open! _Struggling, she finally pushed the hatch open, as the smoke rushed past her out the escape hatch, up into the sky. 

She clambered up onto the roof of the transport, as the sounds of gunfire sounded out over the harbor. Around her, the other vehicles of the convoy, still lying there in the road and pointing towards the harbor, lay about in various stages of destruction. But what caught her focus was the fire that raged from the lead truck, now a piece of shattered metal. _Captain…the test pilots…_A cry penetrated the haze that surrounded her mind. "Ensign! Ensign Bagiruel! Are you alright?" Arnold Neumann stepped around the wreck of an escort truck, looking a little worse for the wear. Behind him, another voice called out, asking for help. "Here's another survivor! I think it's Pal! Gimme a hand here!"

She looked down at Arnold, dubiously looking at her wound, then the ground, which seemed a rather far fall now, then back to Neumann. "Um, Petty Officer, I'm a little worried about how I'm going to get down, with this…wound, and all…"

"Huh? Don't worry, commander, I'll catch you before you hit the ground." He held out his arms. "Now, please jump, ma'am. We have to hurry, and figure out what we're going to do next."

_Well, okay. Here goes nothing…_ Natarle closed her eyes, and, stood up, very slowly, and jumped. Well, it was more like a fall. Thankfully, Arnold caught her just in time. She felt his arms enwrap her, and for a second, it seemed to be a little more then a simple catch. She reacted like she normally would.

"Thank you, Petty Officer. Could you put me down now? I'm not your girlfriend, and I can walk just fine." The helmsman blushed, and gently put down his superior officer. "Ma'am, the rest of us are over there," he said, pointing towards a small cluster of rocks on the ruined hill, made by a missile explosion. They both made their way towards the rocks, careful to look for any survivors.

Only a small fraction of the people in the convoy were gathered around the rocks. Chief Murdoch waved them over. "Ensign, Petty Officer, good to see ya." His face was set in a hard frown, and he met them outside of the circle of crewmen. "We only found about 120 survivors, Ma'am. You're the most senior officer around now, so you gotta make a decision. We could stay here, but I'm a little worried 'bout those rebels, not to mention ZAFT."

Natarle looked down at the ground, thinking. _Great, my first command. What am I going to do? I won't let their deaths be in vain. _

She looked up, and sighed. She had to be strong. "Alright. Listen up everyone!" The heads of the crew all turned to look at her. It was a little disconcerting, having people follow her orders for once. "Umm…the senior crew are dead. That makes me commanding officer," she mumbled. She gulped, and continued. "The rebels and ZAFT knew that the _Archangel_ and G-weapons were arriving today. That said, they'll be making for the docks. We have to beat them to the punch. We're going to start up the _Archangel_ and make for the spaceport. Move out!" For a moment, everyone just sat there, stunned as the realization of what had happened sank in. Then the Chief took charge. "You heard her! Let's get a move on!"

------------------------

"Ugh! This stupid door won't open! Kisaka, none of the codes that I have will work!" Cagalli struck the cold metal with her fist, glaring at the security keypad. Around the dock, the members of AFLA tried to get into any opening the ship might've had, making sure that they were careful to not draw the attention of the base by accidentally triggering alarms. That was one good thing that came of the ZAFT attack, at least. The attention of the Alliance's officers was focused on the base perimeter, not it's interior.

It was a blow to learn that three of the prototypes had been taken by ZAFT. At least Kira had grabbed one of them, though, with Sherry dead, killed by The Hawk, the other one was probably controlled by ZAFT as well.

BLAM! A gunshot rang out! Cagalli turned around, pulling her gun out of it's holster. Ahmed rushed to her, his gun held out in front of him. "Cagalli! It sounds like the crew of the ship has caught up with us! We're pulling out!"

"Damn it! I thought we took care of 'em!" Cagalli fumed at the airlock door, staring at the damned keypad, silently shouting at it. The only reason that the crew had caught up was because she hadn't been able to open the door in time.

A sudden motion caught her eye, behind a bunch of ammo crates. She motioned to Ahmed, and they crept silently around, circling the crates. Behind them, the sounds of battle continued, along with the occasional pained scream or choked cry as each side lost a valued friend in the fierce fire.

Unnoticed in the confusion, Natarle and Arnold had crept around the perimeter of the battle, until they reached a maintenance hatch under the ship's main body. They threaded their way through the numerous power cables, followed from afar by Cagalli and Ahmed.

"Okay, this one isn't locked down right now. We'll come in from here, and head for the bridge. After that…" Natarle shrugged. "…We'll see what happens after we get this ship up and running. Most likely, we'll swing by the…" The sound of a gun being cocked put her mouth to rest. Turning, the two Alliance crewmen saw two teens, barely sixteen years old, aiming pistols at their heads.

"We'll take over from here."

------------------------

Standing, facing each other across a gulf of fire, the Aegis and the Strike. Neither moved, they simply stared down one another. Within the Aegis, Athrun worked at the console, hastily jury-rigging a flawed system. Murrue Ramius stared at the complex controls within the Strike, trying to learn how to pilot such a complex machine in a few minutes what had taken it's assigned pilot three years to simply understand.

In the skies above, Mwu La Flaga rocketed through the blue skies, observing the unfolding story below. _I can't be sure whether the ground crew managed to save the last G-Weapon, so I'll have to take both of them out. The Aegis is more of a threat, so I'll take that one out first. _Swooping down, the experimental _Peregrine_ living up to it's name; a loud shriek echoing across the sound barrier, it broke out of it's dive at the edge of the small island, it's wide profile and barrels pointed at the G-Weapon.

But the clash to come was interrupted by a tremendous explosion, a huge dust cloud coming up from the hidden docks beneath the installation. Forced aside, the _Peregrine_ broke out of it's attack run at a wild kilt, and began to barrel roll uncontrollably. In the chaos, the Strike was knocked over, landing hard; while the Aegis fled into the skies, turning towards Vesuvius base.

Within the cockpit of the Strike, the com screen flashed on, revealing to Murrue Ramius an unfamiliar face. "Kira! Are you there?"

Shoved behind the pilot seat, Kira had to struggle unceremoniously to turn around to respond. "I'm here, Cagalli. What's going on? I take it you already took over the _Archangel _without my help." _Took over the _Archangel?_ Was that ship really their goal all along?_ Murrue Ramius mulled over this thought for a brief moment, before the girl's next statement interrupted her.

"We've got bigger problems. ZAFT's launched an attack against our base back on Uroboros! If we don't get back soon, they'll be wiped out!"

* * *

Well, that's chapter four. Not too great, even after editing, but I've suffered a brain drain from schoolwork recently. I'm still editing Chapter 5, so just wait for that. 


	5. Overkill

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: A Twisted Universe

Chapter 5: Overkill

Written by Skywalker6119

Disclaimer: Gundam and all affiliated terms are owned by Bandai and not by me.

Introduction: The two crews of the _Archangel_ are pulled together to so that both their goals can be met. ZAFT plans to use the newly captured mobile suits to carry out a mission of great importance. Unbeknownst to them all, a great tragedy will occur in the midst of the battle, thanks to human hot-headedness and planning.

Note: Since this is a Twisted Universe, some names will be mixed up, along with certain character's personalities.

* * *

Mwu La Flaga stumbled out of the thick smoke, coughing. _Shit, what was that? _Massive clouds of dust covered the sky, and the mountain that covered the factory and docks of Onogoro was shattered, a massive crater replacing it. As Mwu walked away from the wreckage of the _Peregrine_, the sound of twisting servos caught his attention. Turning, he saw the massive form of the G-Weapon struggling to lift itself from the surface, slowly and unsteadily rising to its feet.

------------------------

Within the cockpit of the Strike, Murrue Ramius sighed in relief. Getting the Strike to stand had been a monumentous feat, what with the design team's incomplete knowledge of mobile suits and the lack of a working OS. Glancing back at her passenger, she was surprised to see open contempt on his face. "What? What's with that look on your face?"

Kira shook his head, and innocently replied, "Nothing." _We should've expected that the Alliance wouldn't have finished the OS for the mobile suits. We never managed to accurately rebuild the OS on the GiNNs either._ Kira's thoughts were interrupted by the voice of Cagalli, who appeared on the view screen. "Okay, lieutenant, the _Archangel_ will come over and pick you and Kira up, then you'll transfer control of the G-Weapon to us, and we'll figure out what to do with you from there. Got it? We're in control here," she finished, a little smugly.

The lieutenant in question gritted her teeth, and nodded. As Cagalli's visage disappeared from the com screen, she winced at the pain that was lancing through her left arm. The wound was still bleeding, though not as bad as she had thought, which meant it wasn't too serious. Kira glanced at it, and said, "I'll have our people patch you up when they pick us up. It's…the least I can do for you. Why'd you help me anyway? You didn't know who I was or what my motives were."

"At the time, I didn't know who you were, and you were wearing an Alliance flight suit, so I assumed you were part of the security force. Besides, you saved my life earlier, so it was natural for me to help you. Anyway, it looks as if your friends are here. Hmm? Who's that down there?"

------------------------

The _Archangel_ glided smoothly over the rubble of Onogoro's mountain, the pilots having trained for months in its operation in the atmosphere. The presence of armed guards, ready to shoot them if they didn't follow orders, didn't distract them in the least. The tension between the Alliance crew members and the AFLA rebels was palpable, in the bridge and on the hangar deck. As the bay doors opened, the rebels released the safeties off of their guns, ready to gun down the hostages they had taken if a wrong move was made. The massive shadow cast by the mobile suit, as it entered the hangar, shifted with each tilt and rock of its unsteady gait. Each step sounded with a ponderous **Boom!** as it came closer to the gathered delegation. Ahmed stood on the catwalk, a pistol in his hand, ready. Soon, the ponderous machine slowed to a stop, and the cockpit opened with a soft hiss.

Out came lieutenant Murrue Ramius, clutching her wound and stepping down slowly onto the catwalk. She was followed by Kira, who smiled at Ahmed, and told him, "It's alright, Ahmed. But let the Commander know that we have another prisoner." Behind Kira, Mwu La Flaga clambered out from his cramped position at the side of the cockpit.

------------------------

The _Archangel _sped over the sea surface, making a desperate run for the rebel base. The explosions had stopped awhile ago, and that worried Kisaka. It meant that ZAFT had finished with the base, had destroyed it utterly. He had left many of the younger fighters and the families of the fighters there, their only safe haven. It had been camouflaged, been equipped with jamming equipment, and armed to the teeth with the best of what could be scavenged of Aube's equipment; but ZAFT had still found it out. Did he leave those innocent civilians there to die, amid flame and terror? If they had stayed in the cities, they would've died anyway, executed as traitors. As he sat in the captain's chair, watching the ocean spray, such thoughts weighed heavily on his mind.

In the brig, Mwu La Flaga absent-mindedly scratched his prosthetic arm at the seam, a nervous habit he had gained after the Grimaldi Massacre. _So here I am, a prisoner in another Alliance brig. Only this time, my jailors are lowly rebels. They took over this weapon of ours, just like ZAFT did back then. Looks like history does repeat itself. _He sighed, and gazed out to the other cells, with other Alliance crewmen and soldiers taking up the space. He had failed in his assignment to protect the G-Weapons, and the only reason he wasn't dead yet was because his captors probably wanted to ransom him. At least one good thing came out of the propaganda the generals crafted out of the lunar battles. People assumed that he was the Alliance's golden child, so they kept him alive long enough to get killed and allow him time to escape.

Kira sat in the cockpit of the newly acquired Strike, working to produce a productive, efficient OS before they got back to the base. From what Ahmed told him just now, it looked as if all hope was lost. _It's over…ZAFT's forces have gone back to their base…Flay…Is she alive? _The image of that precious person, when he first met her, on that peaceful day so many years ago…

**Flashback**

"Kira! Merry Christmas!" Sai walked into Kira's packed living room, already full with merry revelers, friends and family members. A massive tree, covered with a variety of tiny ornaments, dominated the room; and the cheerfully crackling fire filled the room with warmth. Tolle and Miriallia were kissing under the mistletoe, while their friends giggled and snickered.

"Glad you could make it Sai!" Kira rushed over and greeted his friend with a brotherly hug, wrinkling their two suits. They laughed together, absorbing the holiday atmosphere for a bit, before Sai took a step back, and reached his hand out behind him. A smaller, daintier hand took his, and Sai told Kira, "This is my girlfriend, Kira, the one I told you about before the break started. Flay, this is my best friend, Kira Yamato. Kira, this is Flay Allster." The girl stepped shyly out from behind Sai, and greeted Kira with a shy smile. _Wow…_ Her dark red hair flowed around her shoulders, shining in the light, down her back till it reached the top of the back part of her dress. Her dress was a conservatively cut black affair, with no styling other then a ring of small pearls along the dress' neckline. "Uhh…" Kira's eyes went up and down her figure, pausing at chest level, before he shook himself out of his trance. "It's nice to meet you, Flay. Congratulations, Sai's a really good guy. You're lucky to get him."

Flay giggled. "Thanks, but you don't need to tell me that. I already know. Sai, I'll be over with Miriallia. See you later." _Her voice…_ She kissed Sai on the cheek and left, leaving the two friends together in the doorway. Sai blushed, and said, "She's really something, isn't she? She's pretty, sweet, and prestigious. I hope you don't have any ideas about her, Kira," he finished, in jest. But he didn't know the thoughts running through Kira's mind at the time, the result of his first moment of puberty. "Of course I don't have any ideas about her, Sai. You're my best friend, and I would never do something like that." Kira chuckled and patted Sai on the back, laughing off the question, but within, a war raged between his conscious mind and his repressed desires.

**End Flashback**

When he had found her, after the first attack and without Sai, her only friend in the shelter, they gravitated towards one another, coming closer and closer, till the inevitable kiss. Even when they found Sai after the short war, he and Flay stayed together, supporting each other. They had worked together to support AFLA, using her knowledge of Alliance procedure and Kira's enhanced mind to plan the daring raids that were the strategy of the group. She had become indispensable to both him and AFLA, and now, at their greatest victory, she

Kira's thoughts were interrupted by a call by Cagalli appearing on the com screen. "Kira, we're coming onto the perimeter of the base. It…it doesn't look good."

------------------------

The jungles were burning. All around lay the charcoal remnants of what had been the Aube Front-line Liberation Army base. The outer perimeter of the base was filled with the rubble from buildings and near misses. The massive doors of their hangar had been blasted apart, and the bodies of dozens of fighters left to guard the base littered the ground. Ahmed took in all of this, as he walked deeper into the remains of the base. The farther in he got, the less bodies he saw, though it was evident that mobile suits had gone deep into the base. When at last, he reached the tiny entrance to the tunnel network, he spoke into his radio. "Tolle, I've reached the tunnel entrance. The mobile suits got up to this point and stopped here. I've counted about thirty bodies so far in the hangar, and all of our equipment was trashed."

"Got it, Ahmed. Commander Kisaka's got most of us working on what we found out here, but I think we can send some people over to help scout out the tunnels. Wait there for a bit."

"I understand, Tolle. Make sure at least one of them is a Coordinator. ZAFT might've left some surprises for us."

The group arrived in short order. As they went down the main shaft, they found nearly a dozen explosive traps, putting everyone on edge. All of the rooms had been searched, and most of the side tunnels had been collapsed. But as Ahmed led his team into the medical bay, a beep came from the general-purpose remote that Kisaka had given him. It was generally used to open the hangar doors, though Kisaka had explained when he had given it to Ahmed, that it could also be used to access the maintenance tunnels. _Maybe…_ Motioning to his team to keep back, Ahmed activated the remote. In front of him, a six by eight foot section of wall opened into the room. A hesitant voice called out from within, the voice of one of the little children who lived in the camp. Ahmed smiled, and one of his team members was already informing the commander the good news.

------------------------

"You want our help?" Murrue Ramius frowned at the outburst from Ensign Badgireul, while Mu La Flaga just stared impassively at the rebel commander. "Ensign, let the man finish first." The three senior officers were gathered in the captain's room, listening to the sudden proposal that the rebel commander, who called himself 'Commander' Kisaka, had just made. In return for helping the rebels remove ZAFT's presence in Aube, the prisoners would be freed and the ship would be returned to the Alliance.

_What would the rebels get out of this? _Mu La Flaga wondered. _Giving up the _Archangel _in turn for removing ZAFT isn't very wise, when you look at the long term implications. If anything, these rebels are smart, and they wouldn't want to make the Alliance stronger. And what about the Strike?_ His last question was answered when it was asked by lieutenant Ramius.

"The Strike will remain in our hands after you leave."

"That is totally unacceptable! Lieutenants, we can't possibly leave it in the hands of these rebels! And think o-" Natarle's outburst was silenced by a motion from Mu, and lieutenant Ramius asked, "Can we please have a moment to confer?" Kisaka nodded, and the three officers huddled together in the corner.

"Ensign," Mu began, "thank you for stating the obvious. We absolutely cannot leave the Strike in the hands of these rebels, for obvious reasons. That said, we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. If we don't help them, there is a very good chance that they'll get the _Archangel_ blown up fighting ZAFT, or they will keep both the _Archangel _and Strike for themselves. Either way, the Alliance loses twice."

Murrue took over. "What the rebels are offering is a compromise. They want to remove ZAFT, and we want the Alliance to win the war. We know how to operate the ship, but they don't. Most of them are probably untrained in how to operate these instruments. If we help them, they help us and the Alliance by returning the _Archangel._ The data on the five G-weapons is still locked in the computer core, so the Alliance can rebuild and improve them on Luna, while they will be stuck with the relatively unarmed prototype. So accepting this compromise is the best thing we can do." Natarle blushed, and nodded. _They're right, of course._

They walked back to Kisaka, and agreed to help the rebels, if the _Archangel _would be returned to the Alliance afterwards. But both sides were still uneasy. _The rebels must know that returning the _Archangel_ to the Alliance will only mean victory in the end. They must be planning something. We'll have to make sure we destroy the _Strike_ before they can use it to do what they're going to do. _With those thoughts, the trio of command officers walked out of the room.

_This ship must be very valuable for the officers to have agreed to help us. They could have refused, and let us be destroyed, but they didn't. There must be something on this ship that is important to the Earth Alliance's future, something worth more then their prototype mobile suit and can only be found here. I have to find it before we hand the ship over to them, before we destroy it._

"Kisaka!" Cagalli stormed into the nearly-empty captain's room, walking right up to the desk and slamming her fist on it. "What're you doing? I heard from Kira that we're not cutting loose those Alliance scum, that we're leaving the ship in their hands!" Cagalli would've continued, but Kisaka raised his hand for silence.

"We are not leaving the ship in their hands. I will simply be allowing them to do their jobs under new management. We simply don't have enough survivors to run a ship of this size at maximum efficiency, Cagalli. I understand your feelings on this matter, but to reach our ultimate goals, we will have to work with the Alliance crewmen if we want to free Aube. And the only way to do that is to make a compromise. They want to leave for space after helping us, fine. With their help, we can push out ZAFT and they'll be out of our hair, leaving the Strike with us. With the Strike, we can crush the remaining Alliance forces, and finally free Aube." Kisaka folded his hands to his lap, and leaned back into the chair of the captain's room.

Cagalli scowled. Sure, Kisaka's argument was reasonable and logical, but the idea of working with agents of the people who invaded Aube in the first place just made her blood boil. _I was one of them to, at one point. But just letting them go like this…_

"Kisaka, if we let them go, with all of the technology on this ship and the sensor recordings, the Alliance will just become stronger, strong enough to conquer Aube again. You can't let them do that."

"Then what do you suggest I do, Cagalli? Execute them as soon as we destroy ZAFT's holdings here? Then I would not be a soldier of Aube. I would be just as bad as Blue Cosmos is to Coordinators." Kisaka sighed, and closed his eyes. Letting the Alliance retake control of this wondrous battleship would cause Aube grief in the future, but Aube would be better prepared by then, and would be strong enough to defend itself, and he said as much to Cagalli. She just scowled, as if he had just insulted her, and opened her mouth to retort, when he spoke again. "We will also need them for another job, though they don't know it. There is something special about this ship, something that is so vital to the Alliance that the commanders chose to compromise rather then risk damage to the vessel in rebellion. We will be watching them, waiting for them to show their hand, before we sabotage their plans. Just be patient, Cagalli. Things will work out just fine."

------------------------

Yzak joule slammed his fist into table. "Commander Aiman! You told us you could lend only a cursory amount of support for our operation, yet you attacked a harmless group of rebels while we were fighting through a veritable fortress!" He made a fist, and slammed it into the table again.

The commander merely smiled. "Is that anyway to speak to a superior officer, Pilot(1) Joule? The mobile suits used in the assault were BuCUE's. They wouldn't have been able to get across the channel to Onogoro as easily as the GiNNs. So I put them to work getting rid of a major thorn in our operations here. Besides, I expected that the _prestigious_ Le Creuset team would be able to complete their mission easily. After all, a team with three council children should've received the best training available. "

Yzak looked as if he was going to attack the commander, but Dearka put a hand on his shoulder and eased him back. "Sorry sir. It won't happen again, sir." The commander smiled again, and nodded.

"Now, I want to go over battle plans with you. I've received orders to finally push out the Naturals from Aube, and seize the Kaguya mass driver. The higher-ups want to cripple their ability to reinforce their orbital forces, and using your newly acquired mobile suits, this should be a piece of cake…"

**Two days later**

"They didn't put up much of a fight, commander. Kira only encountered two GiNNs, and our ground forces didn't encounter much resistance either." Commander Kisaka frowned. The _Archangel _was resting on the shallow sea floor, having launched an attack on the ZAFT base using the Strike and a contingent of rebels. In the short time since forming an alliance with the Alliance crew, the positions of the joint crew had been decided. Ensign Badgiruel was placed in charge of the CIC, and Lieutenant Ramius was the XO, while Commander Kisaka held the position of captain. Due to his experience in combat, Lieutenant La Flaga had been selected as the CAG(2), though, without an atmospheric fighter aboard the _Archangel,_ all he could do was educate young Kira in basic battle tactics and contribute to the defense plans of the ship, recommending tactics and such. The other positions were on the bridge were evenly divided between Alliance and rebel crews, with the exception of the helm, with both positions being occupied by Alliance crewmen.

Kira had spent the night working on the OS for the Strike, in anticipation of a hard battle, but so far, it had been a cakewalk. The base was nearly abandoned, except for a light holding force. The rest of ZAFT's strength as well as the stolen G-weapons, had just disappeared. The hangars had been empty, as were the administrative offices. Without anything to do, the Strike had been ordered to return to the _Archangel _while small teams of rebels and Alliance crew combed the base, looking for anything that might tell of ZAFT's plans. _How could such a large military force just disappear like that? At last report, there were over a dozen mobile suits at the base, and over a thousand support personnel; yet today, we only encountered two GiNNs and maybe 300 soldiers. The rest just vanished into thin air._

On the ground, a young resistance fighter, only about seventeen years old, walked into the empty hangar 6. Like the other massive hangars around the base, this one was empty on both levels, totally stripped of anything useful. But his orders were to perform a complete search of every building, looking into every nook and cranny. As he stepped deeper into the building, his steps echoing softly, he heard another echo. He stopped, and took another step. The echo was there again, the echo of an empty space. He looked down at the metal panels that made up the floor, and walked to the edge of the one he was standing on, and lifted it up. _It's surprisingly light and thin,_ he thought, but when he had removed it, thoughts about the panel were brushed aside by what he saw. A deep hole bored into the earth, and from what he saw, it was only one corner of a much larger hole.

He stepped down into it, cautiously walking down the steep slope, his gun held ready. When he reached the bottom, he saw a massive tunnel, large enough to accommodate two mobile suits side by side, strung up with lights. He raised his radio to his mouth. "Comman-" A roaring sound interrupted him. It came from deep within the tunnel, coming closer and closer. A massive wall of fire burst into view, and quickly engulfed the young rebel, as a series of concealed bomb caches exploded throughout the base, killing the search teams and leveling the base. At the same time, the guns around the Kaguya spaceport exploded into action, firing at the twenty fast approaching shapes, swooping through the air and smashing through the forest of the main island.

The stolen Gundams rocketed through the spaceport, easily taking out the heavy defenses that the Earth Alliance had erected around it. GiNNs and DiNNs landed on the runway pads of the air defense fleet, destroying plane after plane before they could reach the air. BuCues roared over the tank battalions, smashing them with wild abandon. ZAFT had totally surprised the Naturals.

------------------------

"What was that!" Murrue Ramius gazed in shock at the ruins of the Vesuvius base, blackened and scattered. She was the first to break the shocked silence that had filled the bridge after the sudden first explosion, and during the massive fireballs that followed. But as the contained expletives and exclamations broke out, another report stunned them into silence.

"We're receiving a report on all Alliance radio bands. Kaguya is under attack!" Cagalli(3) exclaimed. The news was significant. After months of stalling and jabbing into the Alliance forces, ZAFT was finally making a significant move against the Alliance. The bridge was silent. Then Natarle asked, "What will you do? The Alliance isn't an ally of yours, but all of ZAFT's military might is there, at Kaguya. Our deal was that we would help you get rid of ZAFT and you would let us go, back into space. The only way to do that is to get this ship to Kaguya."

_We'd have to deal with the Alliance eventually. Letting ZAFT destroy them would be a good way to get rid of them, but since they also have G-Weapons, it would be best to get rid of them first, then the Alliance. If we go now, we'll be killing three birds with one stone. _"We'll go and help the Alliance. After all, a deal's a deal," Commander Kisaka said. Lieutenant Ramius nodded, and ordered, "Mr. Newmann, take us out of the water, and get us over to Kaguya. Ready missiles tubes 1-4, and charge Godfrieds." The _Archangel_ made a slow turn as it rose up to the surface, pointing towards the spaceport. As it broke the surface of the water, it's Godfried cannons and Valiants disengaged from the main body of the ship, and moved into combat positions as it traveled overland towards the spaceport.

------------------------

Athrun glanced at the carnage taking place around him, as the outmatched Naturals desperately tried to hold off the massive assault. He easily dodged a missile that had been fired at him and fired back with his beam rifle, destroying the tiny missile truck. In the air, Alliance Spearheads and Saberfish(4) were barely holding their own against the slower DiNNs through sheer weight of their numbers, launching from hidden secondary airfields. And as Athrun destroyed yet another tank squadron, it became apparent that those numbers were taking their toll on the ZAFT forces. Already, the Alliance had destroyed or disabled six mobile suits, and the batteries on the G-weapons were quickly being drained as the Phase-Shift Armor was hit and the weapons systems used. _We have to end this quickly. Once we destroy the mass driver, we can pull out; but that artillery of theirs is preventing us from getting close enough. _Athrun keyed his radio transmitter. "Nicol, this is Athrun. I want you to disengage from the fighting and fall back to the tunnel. Then activate your Mirage Colloid and get behind their artillery and destroy them."

"Roger Athrun. Can you give me some covering fire, distract them for a bit?"

"Sure, Nicol." The Aegis leapt into the air, and sliced through one of the fighters harassing the Blitz using one of his beam sabers. He spiraled through the air, and chopped through two more in quick succession. As the fighters turned their attention to this new enemy, Nicol blasted away back to the tunnel, where he remained for a few minutes as the battle continued to rage; before activating his special Mirage Colloid. He crept around the spaceports defenses, walking along the ground, getting behind the many ranks upon ranks of artillery that encircled the mass driver launcher. Once he had crept directly behind them, he de-cloaked, and with the defenses of the port otherwise occupied, proceeded to decimate the carefully arranged ranks with his devastating Trikeros shield.

As he cleared out the defenses around the mass driver, he opened up a fire lane for Dearka's Buster, and Dearka took the opportunity. Linking his beam gun and gun-launcher, he fired massive blasts of energy at the impressive superstructure of the mass driver, tearing into the launching assembly and beyond. As the Blitz joined in the attack, the Buster maneuvered into a higher altitude, to get into a position to bombard the mass driver without hitting Nicol. But before he could fire, a blast of energy hit him in the back, and knocked him from the sky.

The _Archangels _Godfrieds fired again at the falling Buster, while the Strike, armed with the salvaged Sword strike pack, jumped into the ground fight. The massive ship's cannons hit the Buster again, yet the mobile suit did not explode in fury; it slammed into the concrete surface, phase armor still intact, and lay there, its pilot conscious and angry. "Commander, the cannons aren't going to be able to do anything to those G-weapons! Why don't we use the assault cannons, the Lohengrin, on them?" Cagalli shouted from the communications station. Kisaka looked over at Murrue, and asked "You recommended that I not use the assault cannons in the atmosphere. Why?"

She looked down at her feet, and bit her lower lip. Then she raised her head again. "The Lohengrin release gamma rays when they fire. They possess a massive amount of destructive power, but their effects on the environment haven't been measured yet. I thought it was better to err on the side of caution."

Kisaka nodded, then turned to look at Natarle. "Arm the Lohengrin, and target the…Duel machine." The other Alliance crew looked shocked, but Natarle nodded, and repeated the order. The massive cannons were opened, and their destructive energies began to collect within the firing tube. "Fire when ready," Kisaka ordered. In the Duel, an alarm began to beep, and Yzak activated the rear camera. He saw the _Archangel _hovering behind him, and blasted away just before the _Archangel_ fired.

The blast from the assault cannons passed through where the Duel had been, just a moment ago, and hit the already damaged mass driver. As the mega-structure collapsed, a stray charge of positrons sped along the tracks of the mass driver, following deep into the main linear motor, and deeper, into the old nuclear heart of the mass driver. Rendered useless by the N-Jammers, it was supposed to have been empty and inactive. The battle continued above ground, oblivious to the stirring dragon beneath the battlefield.

"The structural integrity of the driver has been compromised. It's collapsing …Wait! Commander Kisaka! There's some kind of energy build-up below the spaceport! I'm reading large amounts of gamma-rays and neutrinos!" In the CIC, Sai read off the results of Cagalli's ill-fired shot.

"Impossible! N-Jammers prevent any kind of nuclear reaction on the planet! That means that there should be **NO** neutrino readings at all!" Kisaka rushed down to the CIC, and peered over Sai's shoulder to confirm his readings. "Pull up the specs for the main gun," he asked quietly as the battle raged around the ship, and the spaceport began to glow a sickly orange, things exploding from the heat and personnel trapped on the ground burning from the gamma radiation.

The name explained everything. _A 'positron blaster cannon'_. _Positrons…Electrons…Shit. Something must have happened to the N-Jammer. This shouldn't be happening! The annihilation of the electrons and positrons are causing…a nuclear explosion! _Kisaka hurried back up to the command deck, the eyes of the rebels and Alliance soldiers on him. "Call back the Strike. We have to get away from Aube." Dead silence filled the bridge. "Hurry!" he shouted, as a massive explosion erupted from beneath the spaceport…

* * *

Finally, Chapter 5's edit is out. Sorry for the sucky ending, I wanted to explain what the terrible mistake was and this was all I could come up with. Everything will be explained later, and I also apologize for the long wait. Even after editing, I couldn't make this work very well, but I promise that Chapter 6 will be better, if only because it's simpler and easier to write. Happy last three weeks of school and welcome E3 2006!

Update) I've put the Scorpios up on a Xanga site till I can move it to my home page. Here's the link.

**http/ private/ yourhome.aspx? userskywalker6119**

Remove the spaces, or just go the Xanga and search for Skywalker6119.

(1) I don't know what kind of military ranking system ZAFT uses. I just called him a 'pilot' because they don't use a conventional ranking system, with ensigns and such.

(2) CAG: Commander, Air Group. I took the term from Battlestar Galactica because I didn't think calling him 'leader of the Combat Air Patrol' would've been better.

(3) I had Cagalli take over Kuzzey's position because Kuzzey was born on Heliopolis, and had never been to Earth before the war, so he wouldn't have joined AFLA. He didn't do much in the series either.

(4) The Saberfish is a fighter design from the Universal Century. Since the Alliance was sure to have developed other fighter types besides the Spearheads for atmospheric combat, but we haven't seen any, I picked the Saberfish since it's armaments and such have already been explained, rather then making up a totally new fighter with unknown capabilities. See mahq . Net for more information. Look in the Sega Dreamcast or Mobile Suit Variations (MSV) section of the Gundam Information.


	6. Apocalypse

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: A Twisted Universe

Chapter 6: αποκαλυψις

Written by Skywalker6119

Disclaimer: Gundam and all affiliated terms are owned by Bandai and not by me. If it was owned by me, it wouldn't be as successful as it is now.

A story review chapter, like those episodes in SEED and DESTINY where they went over the events of, like, the previous twenty episodes or so. This is the only one I will have, and it will go a little into Azrael's background as well as the history of the war from an insider's point of view.

Note: Since this is an Alternate Universe/Twisted Universe Story, some names will be wrong or mixed up, along with certain character's personalities.

Note 2: Please just imagine that you're watching a History Channel documentary, or you can just ignore the parts about George Glenn. This chapter is more about Azrael in my universe.

* * *

High above the great blue orb that was the planet Earth, an orbiting satellite, one of thousands deployed within the debris belt, picked up a large tectonic disturbance within the South Pacific. Bringing the region into focus, it determined that a nuclear explosion had taken place. Immediately, a shutdown signal was transmitted from the satellite to all other Alliance satellites orbiting the planet that might have detected the event, followed by a burst of electromagnetic radiation to disable any ZAFT surveillance satellites. Disregarding protocol, the satellite immediately transmitted the data, rather than awaiting the scheduled data dump, to a small, insignificant point on the orb that it hovered above, before wiping the data from it's memory. The transmission was intercepted by a high-flying craft, a tiny observation zeppelin of little importance, used across the globe by tourism companies and small, local cargo lifters alike as a cheap and low-maintenance transport. The only thing that made this craft different from hundreds of similar ships were it's owners, who, after encrypting the data and compiling a report, sent it along a network of weather balloons and computers scattered across the world, till it arrived at a small vacation house located in mountainous Andorra.(1)

------------------------

The report was viewed with a small frown. " It appears that those damned Coordinators have caused more than the minor setback that we predicted they would. We should've cleansed Aube when we had the chance, rather than simply holding them back." Muruta Azrael glared across the long expanse of table at the two Alliance admirals and the one LOGOS official. The two Alliance admirals withered under his fierce gaze, more used to giving such gazes rather than receiving them, while the LOGOS official merely smiled. Admiral Reginald Holmes, a slightly portly man with a thick beard and balding head, opened his mouth to speak, before closing it again. He raised a finger, and then lowered it. Such was the power of Muruta Azrael, who would not tolerate worthless and unannounced debate with those of lower ranking, and severely punished those who dared to speak up against him and his position. The fact that an admiral of the Alliance, who was at least thirty years his senior and a member of a member state's noble families, was beneath the young businessman who grew up in a slum orphanage, showed just how powerful Azrael had become as Blue Cosmos grew under his command.

Azrael motioned for the admiral to speak his mind, a rare opportunity to actively speak in his presence. The admiral hoped that he wasn't wasting the opportunity.

"Um, well, sir…you personally approved of our course of action. You were the one to show us the data that Blue Cosmos had gathered on ZAFT's military disposition here on Earth, and you said that they were spread out too thin to reinforce any positions here on the planet with their current troop numbers, having to defend Victoria and Kaohsiung and Carpentaria and Gibraltar, and our orbital defense cordon would be able to hold back the majority of their reinforcements, while our own forces should be concentrating on taking back the captured Mass Driver installations and Kaguya was well enough defended in the first place and we didn't want to give indications that there was something special at the Mass Driver specifically, and to redirect their attention towards Morgenroete." The words came out in a rush, jumbled together, but understandable. The admiral trembled with fear and embarrassment, but a surprising thing happened.

"You're right, admiral. I make the decisions, and I make mistakes. But those mistakes are what make us pure and Natural. We fight for a world of mistakes, a world where we learn from those mistakes. Fortunately, my decisions do allow us to move our funding over to the BPU project without having to fight… our more extreme friends." Azrael turned to the LOGOS member sitting at the table. He had been silent throughout the entire meeting, smiling his light-hearted and sinister smile, his eyes unreadable behind his mask. "I'll leave the future of the N-Jammer Canceller in the capable hands of my partner here. I'm sure that his _'friends' _in high places will be eager to get their hands on it, yes?"

The LOGOS official simply nodded, that stupid smile still plastered on his face. The rest of the meeting was rather routine, culminating in the traditional salute of toasting their common cause and shouting out "For our pure blue world!" before the group went their separate ways, the LOGOS official returning to his submarine, and Azrael and the Alliance admirals retiring to their living quarters, in separate wings of the manor.

------------------------

Muruta Azrael sat at his desk, poring over the news reports of the day that covered his computer screen. The anniversary of the Bloody Valentine was coming up, and most of the news was old, a review of the history of Coordinators and Naturals. He viewed a streamed video of the history of the Coordinators; his mind wandered the avenues of time as the video played, remembering the past and how it shaped his future.

------------------------

'George Glenn was born before the Cosmic Era and the start of the Reconstruction War, in the then-independent nation of Great Britain, before moving to the superpower that was the United States of America, later to become the Atlantic Federation. From a young age, he was considered special, gifted. He graduated from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at the age of 17, and quickly went on to becoming a popular hero among the people, showing a brighter future amidst the darkness of the Reconstruction War. He was a Nobel Laureate, was appointed head of FASA, and managed to procure funding for the advancement of science during the darkest war years. When he announced the Jupiter Exploration mission, it seemed to all that world that mankind was finally stepping out of the long winter, led not by a mythological superman who was perfect in every way, but a normal, if gifted, man from rural California. But he hid a secret from the masses, the secret of his genetic enhancement. Resequencing of genes was not new, but purposely using the technology to greatly enhance a human being's physical and mental abilities had never been done before.' As the narrator droned on, highlighting the many things Glenn had done with his enhancements, scenes from various early newscasts about George Glenn flashed onto the screen; photos taken during the first experiments performed on Glenn, Glenn at his graduation, Glenn accepting the Nobel Prize. A tribute to the memory of one who was a great man in the eyes of many, Coordinator and Natural alike. Azrael scoffed as praise was heaped on the _magnificent _George Glenn, a man who could do no wrong, who was a heroic figure in the mold of Martin Luther King Jr. The moderate liberals in the news media always heaped such praise on the Coordinators in their naïve attempts to change the world. Coordinators were not a physical revolution of man, they were a blight and virus upon the world, whose release would spell the death of mankind.

------------------------

It had all started with George Glenn. Famed and honored for his great achievements, he cheated life and lived without the struggle that others had to live through. I was only seven years old when he revealed his secret, that he was genetically enhanced, but I understood enough to hate him for his enhancements, for being better than normal humans, for making a mockery of the sacrifices and sufferings of normal people. Even worse, he mocked the gifted, the humans who were naturally talented, the musicians, the artists, the writers, the child prodigies. They were no longer special. _I_ was no longer special. It was hard enough to get the attention of Father in a family of six geniuses, but now my genius wasn't enough. I was never the smartest, never the toughest, I was always at the bottom. I was the only flawed child in the family, born with dyslexia, but I overcame and Father recognized me. I was his favorite. But a Coordinator wouldn't have been born with dyslexia. A Coordinator was perfect, flawless, at least to Father. I was _replaced_. Like an obsolete computer, I was replaced by his new love and favorite, and Mom went with him.

_Flashback_

"Hiroko, come along now. I'll show you to your room. You can wait for your parents there, rather than standing out here in the rain." The maid looked sadly at the young man standing on the rain-drenched sidewalk, just outside the gates of the Allster estate. She didn't say what everyone already knew, what he already knew, that they weren't coming, that they would never come. He stared blankly down the road, ignoring her. In his mind, he replayed the messages over and over, wondering why, after all their devotion and love, he had been abandoned.

_'Hiroko, you know I love you, but I have to take this opportunity. The Mendel colony is the foremost medical research center in the inner solar system. I know that you've had a hard time in school, and I loved spending time with you, teaching you, but I have to go. Your mother is still with you, and you have all your brothers to help you.'_

_'But I don't want you to go. What's so special about this research anyway?'_

_'Hiroko, you're too young to understand. Even though you're a genius, a _

_seven-year old can't comprehend the opportunity that has been given to us. Please don't cry, my son. I'll call you every day, and mom will always be here for you._

_'We'll send for you once we're settled in, Hiroko-chan. Your father and I are very busy right now, so we won't be able to spend much time with you right now if you came. That's why Uncle is going to take care of you from now on. We want you to have a full childhood, my little genius.' _

_'Happy birthday, Hiroko. Sorry we can't come back to Earth right now, but I know that the rest of the family is coming. Won't it be nice to see all our relatives again? We'll be there next year, we promise. Remember, Mom and Dad love you most of all.'_

_The birthday cards came every year, always with big, extravagant presents. They had come every year, the same message, with only cosmetic differences. The paper data disks always had new pictures on them, and the messages were worded differently, but they remained consistent. The pictures were always of his parents, busy with their work. The messages continued to grow shorter and shorter every year. They promised the same thing every year, and every year that promise was left unfulfilled. _

_The servants always treated him delicately on holidays and birthdays, no matter if he was seven or ten or thirteen. They always tried to shelter him, good people. But he always found out, somehow. One time, a newly arrived servant remarked how nice the older brother was to everyone, and how well-behaved he was, unlike his rambunctious sister. Somehow, the remark made him suspicious, and through tedious digging, he found a legal transfer of guardianship from his parents to Uncle Allster, dated just before Mom joined Dad at Mendel. They never intended to take him with them, they had left him with family. (2)_

_He knew what was going on at Mendel now. The last birthday card had shown that Mom was pregnant. They had hid it well, no one had noticed, except him. Mendel was well known as a place where Coordinators were created. They had finally decided to replace his flawed, dyslexic mind with the perfect human. This year, the card promised the same thing, and was even shorter. The present was even more extravagant than usual, but he knew it meant that they no longer loved him, even if the servants believed otherwise. (3)_

At fifteen years old, having stood there on the sidewalk for six years every birthday, every Christmas, every New Year, Hiroko decided that he wanted to be independent and free of his parents then and there. He went back with the maid, and resolved to make his own way through the world, and become greater than his parents, and to bring down vengeance on those who abandoned him and caused his pain.

_End Of Flashback_

I locked myself away in my room for a year, taking meals through a slot in the door. A self-built prison. No matter how much my 'family' and servants pleaded with me, I ignored them. I poured myself into studying war and previous genocides, and found one thing in common. Those who committed genocide were always able to garner public support in one way or another. Coordinators were practically worshiped by common men. The acceptance of these aberrations was widespread, but I found others who shared my abhorrence for them. It was mainly among conspiracy theorists and religious fanatics, but many were sound of mind and body, and all were purely natural. When I emerged from my isolation, I was the leader of an organization more powerful than any government, unrestricted by public opinion and ready to purify our blue Earth.

Abandoned, I changed my name to Azrael, the Angel of Death, opposite the Coordinators and their cheating of Life, and watched as Coordinators grew. I saw how people tried to oppose them, and failed. It seemed like everyone was starting to cheat struggle, and noting was being done about it. Environmental groups didn't do anything to protect the planet from it's fate, governments had grown weak and relented to public pressure to lift the ban on genetic engineering, religions began to change and preach that _this_ was the ascending of mankind to a greater existence, changing centuries-old beliefs; and everything just blew past me, a helpless spectator to all of this change, happening too quickly and mocking the whole of human history. It would no longer be the history of humans, but the history of a race of monstrous children, the bastard children of science making gods out of men and of man taking the fire of ease from the gods of life. But then, a miracle. Someone finally found the light of truth, the true way to deal with these monsters from space. Glenn was killed, the first casualty in the fight to preserve the purity of this great blue world. There is only one Earth, and it should not be defiled by those with a lust for superiority and power.

------------------------

'The Jupiter Exploration mission was a candle in the darkness of the Reconstruction War, but it took a long time for the fire to spread. The resources of the newly formed Atlantic Federation were stretched thin rebuilding and caring for refugees, and FASA was pushed into the background for three years until enough funds had been gathered to finally build the _Tsiokolvsky, _a process that took four years of construction in orbit of Earth. Before he departed on his Jupiter exploration mission in C.E 22, George Glenn and a team of researchers posted theories and analyses about the next stage of human evolution, to be brought about by genetic engineering, and coined the term Coordinator, hiding the fact that the first Coordinator had already been born. The controversy and backlash over the reports prompted George Glenn to leave the Earth without revealing his existence, while friends worked on Earth to better prepare the world for the unveiling of the first Coordinator.

When news of Evidence 01 was received on Earth, the truth that mankind was not alone amongst the stars divided, rather than united, mankind than ever before. Some argued that humanity had to advance and evolve to expand into space and meet others, while others claimed that humanity had to hold onto it's genetic uniqueness. Ultimately, the world was split between the two factions, with individual countries setting up their own protocols. The world was split between it's southern and northern super-countries, the former mostly supporting genetic advancement, the latter opposing it. The northern powers eventually wrote up the Rome Protocol, prohibiting genetic modification on any of their territories, on Earth or in space.

Perhaps hoping to repeal the protocol, when he returned to Earth in C.E 36, George Glenn revealed his secret; he was the First Coordinator, already genetically enhanced. At the same time, friends of his among the scientific community spread the information on how to create a Coordinator throughout the Internet2, promising a bright future for humanity. Glenn's announcement had no effect on the Rome Protocol, however, and actually served to turn more people against genetic enhancement. Genetic enhancement would lead to a return of classes and class conflict, they reasoned; or alternatively, genetic enhancement was altering a perfect body into something rivaling the servants of the gods. Despite the backlash across the world, the southern powers refused to adopt the Rome Protocol, and the first Coordinator boom was made up mostly of rich couples from the United States of South America, the Oceania Union, and the Aube Union. Secretly, people from the smaller northern powers, such as the Kingdom of Scandinavia, began to travel to southern power space colonies to have Coordinator children. The largest and best of these space colonies was the Mendel Research Colony, orbiting at Lagrange Point 4, where George Glenn himself resided.

Having been fired from his position at FASA for the crime of being a Coordinator, Glenn sought employment among the more-tolerant southern powers, finding employ within the United States of South America, the most powerful of the southern powers. He traveled frequently between the Mendel colony and Earth, as the director of the South American Institute of Space Flight, frequently visiting schools as a motivational speaker during his time on Earth. It was on one of these trips that, on July 9, C.E 53, a disgruntled Natural college student, David Chimeal, shot Glenn with a Kel-Tec P-32 before turning the gun on himself. Glenn was hit three times in the stomach and once in the chest, and died two hours after the shooting in a local hospital.'

------------------------

After Glenn was killed, I knew it was time to strike. For years, friendly scientists had been funded by my new Blue Cosmos group to develop a virus, but our efforts had failed miserably. However, a spy placed on the Mendel Research Colony to watch both Glenn and my parents returned to Earth with a sample of a mutated Type S Influenza virus, and details of a horrendous project. The scientists up in Mendel, my parents included, were attempting to create a man-made god, an Ultimate Coordinator. I knew I had to put a stop to it, somehow.

Though harmless, the scientists of LOGOS, the financial and scientific arm of Blue Cosmos, used the Coordinator's prized genetic enhancement technology to mutate the virus, creating the Type S2 and S3 Influenza viruses. To test the S3, I ordered it to be released into the Mendel Colony, finally taking my revenge on my parents and hopefully, the Coordinator who took them away from me.

My revenge was not as satisfying as I had wished, however. The S3 was incredibly quick in spreading, and death followed soon after infection, but it was too much of a weapon of war for me to use on the Earth. It infected everything as a carrier, human, plant, animal, anything that could support was infected and died. It's only saving grace was that it was not very resilient, and died out within a few weeks of infection, leaving no trace of it behind except corpses and barren wastelands. And that was the problem. It didn't leave anything behind to show evidence of genetic tampering, and it was too virulent to use safely. It was uncontrollable, and would damage our pure world too much for the simple purpose of removing the Coordinator stain. So, I went with the S2 virus, directing Blue Cosmos to spread rumors of Coordinator intervention. It worked beyond my wildest dreams! Everywhere, Coordinators were seen for what they truly were, and the riots, the lynch mobs, all the tools of public warfare were used against them. For a time, I was content to see them run to the PLANT colonies, getting them off the planet was enough for me. But their survival and livelihoods still attracted more weak-minded traitors to "enhance" their children, and their propaganda, speaking of the peace of the PLANTs, pervaded through many tolerant locations on Earth. The Coordinators had to be wiped from mankind, one of our many mistakes in history.

The Bloody Valentine was how it was remembered by the public, but for those of us in Blue Cosmos and LOGOS, it will always be known as Liberation Day, when we launched our first attack to liberate the human race from the claws of the Coordinator monsters. The destruction of Junius Seven by our agents began a true war, between Naturals and Coordinators. Up till then, all our actions, from the riots to the conquest of Aube had been minor skirmishes, isolated incidents, all leading up to a war where Blue Cosmos was not alone at the front of safeguarding humanity. I know that the righteous shall prevail. Even the N-Jammers could not stop us from continuing our plans. The loss of the nuclear stockpile and G-Weapons were only small defeats in this war, and we will win larger, more important battles. There are still some potentially useful toys left in our toybox. I really should thank Flay for telling me about that Yamato child.

* * *

That's Chapter 6. It was put off for half the summer, due to lack of inspiration and desire to write hate speech, but I got around to it and now it's done. I have a picture of the Scorpios Mobile Armor mentioned in Chapter 1 on a Xanga blog under the same name as my author name, if you want to check it out, along with some concept sketches of the DART from Chapter 2. They're only rough drafts; please leave some comments on how you feel they look. I also have a biography of sorts about them posted as well. There's a link to the site on my authors page. I'm going back to school tomorrow, and I doubt that I'll update anytime soon, except maybe in my image collection.

Have a great school year, everyone!

I might edit Chapter 5 again. Originally, I planned for the Lohengrin to trigger a gamma ray burst to irradiate the archipelago and make it uninhabitable, but I wasn't sure if it was scientifically feasible. However, after doing some research, it looks like it is possible to do such a thing.

(1) Andorra is a small country bordered by Spain and France. Look it up on Wikipedia for more detailed information. I heard about it from my former World Civilizations teacher when he was talking about his trips. He remarked that the country was so small, that he hiked the length of the country and returned back to where he started in one day.

In this world, Andorra is a neutral nation, like the Kingdom of Scandinavia and the Equatorial Union. These three are left alone because they have nothing important to the Alliance, no mass driver or large research facilities or factories. No need to waste precious military resources.

(2) The "Uncle Allster" mentioned here is the older brother of George Allster, who is Flay's father. This Allster helped Muruta become powerful in the Atlantic Federation, but his younger brother never met Muruta and was more accepting of Coordinators, though Flay met her distant cousin many times.

(3) By this time, the year is C.E 44. Mendel was built in C.E 37; Glenn's Confession was in C.E 36, and Muruta was abandoned in C.E 38, at the age of nine. In this universe, Muruta would be about 42.


	7. Is this a Deus Ex Machina?

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: A Twisted Universe

Chapter 7: This is a Deus Ex Machina, Isn't It?

Written by Skywalker6119

Disclaimer: Gundam and all affiliated terms are owned by Bandai and not by me. If it was owned by me, it wouldn't be as successful as it is now.

I'm trying a new format for this story in this chapter. Most of the stories I've read have spaces between paragraphs, so I'll be doing that here to see how it looks, if it flows better.

* * *

Tsk, fsss. Tsk, fsss. Tsk, fsss. Pierce the fabric, pull the needle. Pierce the fabric, pull the needle. Mindless action, done without thought, automatically. The needle took up the whole of her consciousness. It was all she thought about. That was why she sewed. 

Tsk- She stopped. She had run out of thread. And there was someone banging on her door, calling out to her. "Cagalli! Please! Open the door! We're all worried about you!" The frantic voice cried out to her, pleading, crying. It wasn't the needle. It did not matter. It did not register. She ignored it, taking more thread, continuing to sew.

An eternity passed as she worked. The stars grew old, died, and were reborn within the time it took to make a single stitch. Time held no meaning in that place, where the light never changed, the air never moved, the seamstress never stopped to rest. Sometimes everything would pause, as the world twirled, as she blacked out, but things would soon start again when she recovered, and the eternity would continue. But an eternity is merely eternal, not forever, and its end was announced with a loud BANG! She had been still for so long; her movements seemed strange and alien. Turning her head to the source of the disturbance, putting down the needle, opening her mouth to speak; none of it seemed natural.

The door hung on its hinges, its lock blasted away. Kisaka stood in the doorway, a remote trigger in his hand. He looked around the room, taking in the piles of clothing and bed sheets sewn together into massive pieces of fabric, covered with intricate designs. A dozen spent spools littered the floor, where Cagalli sat, another pile of fabric laying across her lap. Bags hung under her sunken eyes, a slight trail of dried blood hung beneath her nose, and her clothes hung loosely around her body.

The trigger dropped to the floor as he ran to her, calling her name. "Cagalli! Cagalli, what've you done!?" She just stared dumbly at him as he picked her up, cradling her in his arms, as he rushed down the corridors to the empty mess hall. Gingerly seating her upon a bench, he turned to get a cup of water from the dispensers, but the sound of Cagalli's voice stopped him.

"Don't bother…Kisaka. I don't…want it." Her voice was dry and whisper-quiet. It didn't sound like the firebrand that Kisaka had known back in the days when Aube had been a powerful nation on its own right; even when she had been wracked with guilt and fear upon returning to Aube and her people, she had still contained that fierce energy that made her a leader and a fighter. Now she sounded like she had never sounded before, defeated.

"Cagalli, you've gone four days without water or food. You won't survive if you keep doing this, you know that very well. If you want to live, you have to take this." Kisaka puts down a tray of food and a cup of water onto the table. With an angry motion, the first sign of passion that she's shown in four days, Cagalli shoves them off the table onto the floor. Again, in her defeated voice, she says, "I only want…to…d-die." _There, it's been said._ "I…betrayed them, twice. I…destroyed everything. I deserve…to die." Cagalli sat there, motionless as she spoke those words. Kisaka looked at her in shock, and maybe a little fear, or anger. He got another cup of water and set it down in front of her, joining her across the table.

"I…said I…didn't want it." She glared at the cup, a slight tint of her fire moving once more through her mind. Kisaka just sighed, and brought the cup to his side. _Uzumi, I think it's time to tell her. I'm sorry, but she has to know. I can't allow her to continue on like this._ "Cagalli. Look at me. You were saved for a reason."

"I can't imagine what cruel god would save me just to do this to me."

"I don't mean that you were saved by a god. By your father. Do you remember what you told me, when we were talking about _your_ escape from Aube. Your father locked you within that bomb shelter when you would've rather gone with him to the command center. That bomb shelter saved you when the capital was bombed and the palace was destroyed. You had been left with everything that you needed, even a radio to signal rescuers and falsified identification papers. You're father prepared all that for you, remember? He knew that Aube would be attacked by the Earth Alliance sooner or later, and he wanted you to live, for this." Kisaka reached into his back pocket, pulling out a photograph and showing it to the silent Cagalli. There were two babies in the photograph, both sleeping, held by an unfamiliar woman. She recognized one of the babies was herself, a cute little button sleeping in a pink blanket. But the other baby, another cute little thing, but with brown hair and wrapped in a blue blanket, was unfamiliar. Kisaka flipped the picture over. On the back was written _Kira—Cagalli_.

"The boy is Kira Yamato. Cagalli…He is your twin brother." Cagalli gaped in shock, and didn't answer. Kisaka continued. "You were separated at birth by your father, a friend of Uzumi Nara Atha, who chose to adopt you. I don't know why he chose to do this, but Kira is part of the reason why your father sacrificed himself to save you. To continue the Atha name and restore Aube, you two were to find each other and work together to restore what we have all lost. You have to live Cagalli, for your brother…for you father, for Aube." Those last words echoed in Cagalli's mind as the world went black, as she fell into unconsciousness, the shock of these revelations and her attempted suicide overwhelming her.

---

The sound of conversation awoke her. As she gathered her wits about her, the sound stopped. "Cagalli!" A familiar voice cried out as someone embraced her. Vision still hazy from her sleep, she just embraced them back, closing her eyes and enjoying that nice warm body lying atop her. "Um…you guys. I'm right here."

Her eyes burst open, and she quickly shoved off that enjoyably warm body. Cagalli rubbed her eyes to clear them and slowly took in the scene. She was lying on one of the sickbay beds, hooked up to an IV drip. Sitting on a chair beside the bed was Kira, an embarrassed smile on his face; and lying on the floor, a thoroughly embarrassed Ahmed.

"Kyaa! What are you doing!? How long have you been here!? Why!?" Cagalli jerked into sitting position, holding her blanket in front of her with her left hand, though there was no need for it, while her right pointed at Ahmed. The embarrassment was starting to get to her now as well, her face becoming hot and a blush growing on her cheeks.

"Um, well, to answer your first question Cagalli," Ahmed smiled sheepishly as he said this, "We're just watching over you. We've been here about a day, since you collapsed in the mess hall. And um…we're…well I'm…um. Kira, could you please go outside?" Ahmed asked his friend, who was still smiling sheepishly as he watched the unfolding scene. "Sure Ahmed. Just remember to control yourself this time, hmm?" With that last remark, he was out the door.

"So you got rid of a potential witness. Now what are you going to do, attack me?" Cagalli smirked as she watched Ahmed's reaction. "No! I didn't mean what I did! I mean I did, but not on purpose! I mean…it was just…just a spur of the moment thing! I di-didn't do anything to you before that, and I d-don't want to do anything now!" Ahmed stuttered out his defense and he climbed back onto his chair.

"I know; I'm joking Ahmed. I know you wouldn't do something like that," Cagalli said with a smile. "Thanks for caring about me." She lowered her head with those quiet words. "I'm…sorry, Ahmed."

Ahmed looked at her sadly. "You don't have anything to be sorry for, Cagalli. The only ones apologizing should be ZAFT. I…I heard everything Kisaka said earlier."

She looked at him in amazement. "You…you know…" Tears choked off her reply. _He knows…_

Ahmed placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know. I know, Cagalli. And I don't care, either." She looked at him with surprise, tears still filling her eyes. "I don't care that you are the heir to Aube, and that you joined the Alliance. All of that doesn't matter to me, because you are Cagalli Yula. And I love you."

---

(1)Kira sat in the corridor, hugging his knees. _She's alright…she's alright._ Thoughts of relief repeated themselves to him. Until this moment, he didn't realise the attraction he felt towards her. It wasn't love, or lust, like he experienced with Flay. It was more…subtle. Almost like the connection he had with Athrun before they had parted ways. Yes, that was it. Cagalli felt like a long-lost friend, something that had been ripped out of his life a long time ago.

Kira's musings were interrupted by the _whoosh_ of the door. Looking up, he saw a fiercely blushing Ahmed rushing out of the room. Ahmed glanced at Kira and said, "Kira, Cagalli wants to talk to you." With that, he ran off down the corridor.

_What? What was that?_ Kira stood up and glanced into the room. A fiercely blushing Cagalli, hair more disheveled than Kira had noticed ten minutes ago, was leaning against the wall the bunk was mounted on. Looking up, she noticed Kira, and quickly started combing her hair with her hands.

The door closed behind Kira. Neither Kira nor Cagalli spoke, simply waiting. Cagalli was looking down at her bedsheets, now playing with her hair rather than combing it. Kira was leaning against the doorframe, watching Cagalli. Finally, Kira sat down on the opposite bunk. "What did you want to talk to me about, Cagalli?"

She stopped playing with her hair, and looked directly at Kira. "Kira, who were your mother and father?"

"My mom and dad? Why do you wanna know, Cagalli?" Kira asked hesitantly.

"It's sort of important."

"My parents were Caridad and Haruma Yamato. They were Naturals, scientists. They died during the Alliance's initial attack."

"Were they anything like you, Kira? In appearance, I mean."

"No, they weren't. I'd never heard of any family member having violet eyes before. Why is that important though? My violet eyes are one of the genetic modifications I got when I became a Coordinator."

"Your parents never…treated you special? Were there times when your parents kept secrets from you, or forbid you from doing things other kids were doing?"

"No. I thought I had a pretty normal life. What's this all about, Cagalli?" Kira asked tiredly.

"I always thought I'd lived a normal life. I might've been more privileged than most other people, and I might not've had the abilities of Coordinators, but I was happy, and the people around me were happy. That's what made it normal. Do you know where I grew up, Kira?" Cagalli pointed out the window, where, on the edge of the horizon, the charred crater that was Aube was just barely visible. "On that island over there, that small island, where people knew just how important they were in the universe. Utterly insignificant, just like Aube is now."

Shock didn't begin to describe the range of feelings Kira was going now. Certainly, there was a great deal of shock. Moreover, there was also quite a lot of anger, and rage. A native of Aube had left behind their country to go and fight for the people who had destroyed the nation in the first place and had forced Kira to travel the bloody path. "So, why'd you join the Alliance?"

"You're not mad? Furious in any way? Kisaka said that the members of AFLA would kill me if they found out I was from Aube."

"Oh, I'm furious. I'm wondering why were fighting for the Alliance. They went and conquered your homeland, and you go and join them. I _do_ want to kill you, but I want to know why first." Those hard eyes, that cold expression, they spoke of so much hate and anger to Cagalli.

"Kira. Calm down and let me finish. I'll explain everything. Now, what did the Alliance do to the nobles after they'd conquered Aube?" Cagalli pushed Kira back down onto the bunk, and asked him in a calm voice, hoping to placate him. _Of all people, a Coordinator should be able to understand._

"They, and their families, were rounded up by the Alliance. We…we never knew what happened to them." Kira looked down at the floor, those fearful and hateful memories flooding back into him. "Their disappearance was one of the reasons a lot of people joined us in resisting the Alliance and ZAFT. If we could restore our strength, maybe we could've found them. Do you know what happened to them?" He asked Cagalli with a forceful voice.

"I know a bit. I joined the Alliance to get some of them freed, the young Natural children. They were satisfied with the trade. The children were sent off to the Kingdom of Scandinavia, and I don't know what happened after that. The rest, they were taken away somewhere." She refused to make eye contact with Kira. _Why bother lying anymore? If he's my brother, he deserves to know the truth, right?_

'_What if he doesn't understand? What if he doesn't believe? Why do you have to say that shameful truth out loud?'_

_Let's just say it. I don't want to keep lying._

"You traded yourself?" Kira's face was wrinkled in puzzlement. "Why would you be so important, Cagalli?"

"You promise you won't tell what I'm about to tell you to anyone?"

"I promise. You must've been related to someone important here, maybe some Morgenroete executive's daughter or something?"

"Not exactly." Cagalli suppressed a sigh. _Well, this is it._ "Kira, my full name is Cagalli Yula Atha. I am the daughter of Representative Uzumi Nara Atha."

Kira blinked. _So, that's how it is._ "So, you, who was our country's 'princess', the scion of our greatest and most honored family, joined the Alliance. And it turns out that you weren't even related to them. Then you really never betrayed us, because you were never one of us." Kira sneered at Cagalli, and stalked out of the room, leaving her with that spiteful goodbye.

---

"Well, what now? Aube's been destroyed, there's nowhere left for you people to go. We still have to go up into space to rendezvous with the Tenth fleet." Murrue Ramius, Natarle Badgireul, Mu La Flaga, Kisaka, and Sahib were gathered in the Captain's quarters, drinking their low-grade coffee.

"There were only two mass drivers large enough to propel the Archangel into space. The Kaguya Mass Driver here, and the Victoria Mass Driver. So we'll just go to Victoria, right?" Mu said. "It's pretty obvious what to do."

"You're forgetting our situation. WE," Sahib indicated to himself and Kisaka, "Aren't crewmembers on this ship. We're rebels, and just because Aube is gone, we're not going to stop being rebels."

Natarle sighed. "Well then, what're we supposed to do with you? There're more of you than us on this ship. If you won't join us, then you've gotta leave this ship. Problem is, some of your rebels are key bridge officers. What'll we do about that?"

"Drop us off, and don't talk about us." All eyes turned to Kisaka. "To get to Victoria, you'll have to cross the Indian Ocean. You can just take us to the Equatorial Union and drop us off there. Most of us don't want to get involved with your war. A neutral nation would be the best place to leave us."

"We can't just abandon the cause, Kisaka!"

"There is no cause! Aube is gone, anything we do now has to be in the interests of our future, and the future of the ideals that Representative Atha espoused. For those ideals to spread, we have to live to spread them. All of us from AFLA, we are all that is left of Aube, here on Earth. We are the only people who can hope to spread Representative Atha's message of peace and tolerance to the people here. Sahib, the loss of our cause allows us to truly spread it. **WE** are no longer tied to any country. We can spread that message to people across the world, without the stigma of nationalism, because we will become a part of the nations of the world, a community not separated by borders and suspicious of one another. **THAT** was the dream of our Representative, a nation of humanity, Natural and Coordinator, which would span the globe and reach out into space without being divided into territories and nations, working against each other. Now we can accomplish that."

Mu sighed, a hand to his face. _If only the rest of us had shared that vision,_ he thought to himself, memories of the Grimaldi Massacre returning to him. "Let's do that, then. Maybe you people can help end this horrible war, and there won't be any more 'Hawks of Endymion.' There was little more to say, so this command cadre, made up of people from many nations, with disparate beliefs and goals, except for a hope for peace, began the arduous path towards that peace, and turned towards the refuge of the Equatorial Union. Behind them, deep beneath the waves and miles away, another group of people marched on the path of war.

* * *

Well, after long delays and stops, I've finally finished Chapter 7. More details on my author page. I totally rewrote it from the draft that I posted up on the site earlier. Sorry if it feels a little rushed, and if it's shorter than other chapters. Chapter 8 won't be up for a while if I continue to write at this pace, but I'll try to get it done by the end of September, and I'll try and shorten chapters so that the story is updated faster. Thanks to all my readers for sticking this far. Be blessed with the sign of the W, the A, the S, and the D. 

Fleeting Dream will probably be updated faster than A Twisted Universe, because it's easier to write for. With this story, I've twisted things so far out of alignment that I can't easily borrow personalities from the show. So, even though my other stories will be updated more frequently, that doesn't mean I've put off working on this one, it's just that writing for this story takes longer and I'll be releasing other things in the meantime.

A Distortion of Truth is still in the outline stages, but the first chapter is taking shape. Chapter 3 of Fleeting Dream is also in the works, for anyone here who's reading my other story.

_**Note: **_If you are a fan of Kira/Cagalli that doesn't like them being related, please don't stop reading this story.

Here's to all the soldiers who have died and are still dying to make this world a better place. (Originally, this was put here around Memorial Day, but I rewrote it again and it's still significant.) Personally, I thought the decision to go to war was stupid, but once we start something, we should finish it.

Also, the images noted in previous chapters have been moved to a deviantart account, along with some sketches of mine done independently. It's on the homepage link.

Happy E3, Everybody! Too bad no one reading this will actually be there, but that's how it is now. Just watch Gamespot and G4, I guess that's all we can do, eh?

(1)I'm junk at romance things, with no experience in them at all. They are alien concepts and feelings to me, so when I watch such things, I don't really understand it, and thus can't really copy it into this story. Sorry.


	8. Anniversary

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: A Twisted Universe

Chapter 8: Anniversary

Written by Skywalker6119

Disclaimer: Gundam and all affiliated terms are owned by Bandai and not by me. If it was owned by me, it wouldn't be as successful as it is now.

We've finally returned to ZAFT's side of the story. Kira and Athrun's confrontation won't happen until at least the next chapter, so I guess they can have a nice fight to the death before getting all guilty and weepy with each other.

* * *

"So, Athrun, you doing alright?" Captain Nathaniel Mauro sat down on a chair next to Athrun's bed, two hot mugs of cocoa in his hands. He passed one to Athrun, who sipped it gratefully. It was the first thing he'd drunk in three days, ever since the rad medicine had kicked in and knocked him and all other survivors out. 

"I'm fine, captain. How's my squad?" he asked.

"They're fine. You youngsters are really something. Even Coordinators are usually out for a week! Really, youth is always amazing." He shook his head. "An old Natural like me would've probably taken a month to get back on my feet." (1)

Captain Mauro's sub, the _Volga Boatman_, had been bringing in reinforcements from Carpentaria, and so had been outside of the blast radius when the Kaguya Mass Driver had exploded. This lucky stroke had ensured the survival of Athrun and a host of other survivors; a total of 76 ZAFT soldiers had been pulled from the waters of Aube, though nineteen hadn't survived treatment.

As Captain Mauro continued to brief Athrun on the situation, the latter's mind was drifting away. _It's almost the Fourteenth. Mom's anniversary… I wonder what sort of memorial service is being planned. It's only been a year… Only three years since I saw Kira._

_Flashback_

"Athrun! Hey!" Kira was running up the hill, waving at his best friend's back. Athrun stopped at the hill's peak and turned back, a smile on his face. "Sorry about that, Kira," he said as Kira caught up to him. "You were taking so long, if I'd waited longer we'd have both been late."

"Sorry. I was up late finishing the Literature assignment. I don't know how you manage to write all those reports so easily. Half the time, I can barely understand what Shakespeare is writing." The two friends started down the path to the tram station, the throng of students in front of it visible from their high vantage point.

"What're you talking about? It should be easy for a Coordinator to read Shakespeare. And even easier to understand."

"I don't think so. And half the class agrees with me. The other half isn't all Coordinators either. I mean, look at Madey. He's a Natural, and he just speeds through Shakespeare. He's even faster than you." Kira sighed. "I guess art just doesn't like me. I'm better off sticking to science."

Athrun laughed. "That's true. You can't tell Monet from Van Gogh, but if someone would bring an Asimo to you, I bed you'd have it dancing a jig within a week." Kira laughed in return, and responded, "Yeah, and you would've changed the entire body shell to imitate Astro Boy. That's what you're good at Athrun, making technology more friendly and creative."

By then, the two had run down the hill and reached the station platform. On the tram a few minutes later, the two talked with other friends over homework and the debate on the PLANTS last night. Pretty much everyone was wondering whether the powers on Earth would give the Coordinators the control of the PLANTS or not.

As they got off the tram, with the spirited debate still spreading among the crowd, Athrun managed to get a moment with Kira. "Meet me after school at the park, 'kay?" Kira nodded, and the two went their separate ways.

---

"What'd you want to talk about?" The two best friends were walking down an empty boulevard, sakura trees blossoming around them. Genetic engineering was responsible for that, just like it was responsible for them. Birdy flew on ahead of them, present whenever the boys weren't in school.

Athrun simply kept walking along, gathering his thoughts. He glanced at his watch, and continued on. Kira followed. They continued walking, Kira following Athrun and Athrun following Birdy. Only when Birdy alighted onto a bench did the pair stop. By then, they'd reached another of the few high points in the city, a meteorite that had become a cliff when humanity had buried it in the soil of earth.

From here, they looked out over the city, which had still not spread over the crater. There were still areas of moon rock that had not been covered by the familiar brown and greens of humanity's cradle, but that was quickly being rectified. They sat there, blossoms fluttering around them, the city below them, the seemingly endless dome above them.

"Kira, I'm leaving Copernicus." Athrun refused to meet his friend's wide-eyed stare, and continued to take in his last view of the city he'd grown to love. "My parents want to join the other Coordinators in the PLANTS. They say that's where my future is, where the future of all Coordinators are. There, we can live peacefully, gracefully, and happily. That's what my father says." Unnoticed, tears started to leak from his eyes. "So, we'll be leaving in two hours. I probably won't be coming back. I might not see you again." Athrun sniffled, and wiped his eyes.

"Usually, I'm the one who's supposed to cry, Athrun," Kira said quietly. "Of course there's no way to change your dad's mind, so there's no point in asking about it. But," he stood up as he said this, his fists clenched, "I'm sure we'll meet again. Maybe I'll go to the PLANTS with you, maybe you can come back and visit me here. Somehow, someday, I'm sure we'll meet again, right?" Kira turned to Athrun, holding out his hand, a sad smile in his face and tears in his eyes.

Athrun wiped his face one last time, stood up, and grabbed Kira's hand. "I'm sure we will. Space is vast, but humans aren't spread out so far. I'll come back, Kira. I'll make sure to see you again." Letting go, he looked at his watch again. "There was a reason I wanted to see you up here, Kira. This is where we first met, after all. It's corny, but this is where I wanted to say goodbye too. Birdy," he called. Birdy flew over to him, landing on Athrun's shoulder. "Bring him back to me whenever he needs maintenance, okay, Kira?"

_End of Flashback_

The call of a crewman interrupted Athrun's thoughts. "Captain, Councilman Zala has established a communication link and wishes to speak to his son." Captain Mauro helped Athrun up, and the pair walked through the corridors of the ship. "You can use the computer in my quarters, Athrun. It'll be more private that way." Keying in his combination, the captain opened the door and Athrun stepped in. Walking over to the simple metal desk, he turned on the view screen set on the tabletop. The worried, aged face of his father greeted him.

"Hello father. It's been a long time since I've seen you."

"Are you okay, Athrun? Were you injured?"

"I'm fine. They injected me with radiation medication, and I'm fully recovered. I'm perfectly healthy."

"That's a relief to hear." He father smiled, but he soon put on his stern business face. "Now, Athrun, what do you know about what happened at Kaguya?"

"Sir. There was a nuclear explosion on Onogoro Island that destroyed the mass driver and irradiated the Aube archipelago. The _Volga Boatman_ had been coming to resupply the Vesuvius base and rescued me and 75 other soldiers. That's all I've found out for now, sir."

Patrick nodded. "Congratulations on a job well done, Athrun. The toll was high, but the Kaguya mass driver will no longer be a problem. The prototype units are all in ZAFT hands, correct?"

"No sir. Captain Mauro did not mention this to me, so I assume he did not know. One prototype unit is still in the hands of the Alliance, along with the prototype carrier, the _Archangel_. I haven't heard of either being destroyed or recovered, sir, so I assume they must have escaped."

"What!? Athrun, what about the crew? Did non-crewmembers get on the ship at Morgenroete?"

"I don't know for sure, sir, but there were some unidentified troops at the battle; perhaps they were security forces or scientists." A puzzled look came on Athrun's face. "Why does it matter, sir?"

Patrick Zala scowled. "Athrun, this is classified information. You can reveal it to no one outside your team. The nuclear detonation at Aube was not one single, large explosion. The sensors recorded 61 near-simultaneous detonations. There were 60 nuclear warheads stored there, in addition to the old nuclear reactor. Furthermore, the N-Jammer hadn't stopped transmitting it's data. Athrun, the Natural's hadn't disabled the N-Jammer; they canceled out it's effects."

Athrun was stunned. If the Naturals had managed to develop such a weapon, the same tragedy that had taken away his mom would be repeated over a hundred times. "How is that possible?"

"We're not sure. They probably had the help of the Morgenroete staff. For now, we're calling the device the N-Abler. All indications are that it's too large for them to fit it onto anything smaller than a space station right now, so we're not worried about them using it against us for the time being. But it's only a matter of time."

"Athrun, this war has to end soon, before the Naturals can complete the N-Abler (2) or their mobile suit program. We'll be working hard on our end, but only you can ensure our safety. The only Alliance members to escape that place are on the Legged ship. I'm ordering you to pursue and destroy them. Is that understood?"

Athrun saluted. "Yes sir."

"Good. Oh, and Athrun, Lacus will be going to Junius Seven to conduct the memorial service in two days. It'll be on Channel 76. See you soon, son."

---

In his dark office, Patrick Zala turned off his computer screen and turned to face the figure standing in front of his desk. "Rau, what's the status of the research team?"

"They're making progress, Councilman Zala. They estimate six months before they have a prototype model, and nine before we can build one small enough to place aboard a battleship." Rau la Creuset smiled. "We should have a mobile suit equipped with one by the start of next year."

Patrick Zala sighed. "Good. And the progress of the Genesis team?"

"The principles are sound, and they've begun to design the cannon. The only problem is hiding such a large weapon from the Naturals. Stupid as they are, they will suspect something if we move something the size of Mendel colony and point it at the Earth. The team doesn't want to finalize their designs until this problem can be solved."

"Then we'll have to rely on more conventional weapons for now. One way or another, by the New Year, we must end this war. Our existence is at stake, Rau. People like you and me, Coordinators and clones, will never be able to live in peace if we don't free ourselves from the Earth. The Naturals will do anything to control or eliminate us. We must eliminate them if we are to be truly free. We cannot protect unless we fight, but if we don't need to fight, we will no longer need to protect. _That_ will be victory."

---

Deep in the bowels of the JOSH-A complex, three men sat in a dark conference room, lit only by the computer screen that was the tabletop. Data from a hundred different satellites, spaceships, and planes lay scattered across the screen.

"So, it worked. Those…_things _were good for something at last." The figure at the head of the table shrugged.

"It's too bad about Kaguya, though. It was pretty useful. And the loss of all our Coordinators is a bit of a blow to R&D." Another figure, seated on the right side of the table, shook his head.

The figure on the left side scoffed. "We don't need them anymore. Azrael's already got others working on the project. Our contact within the PLANTS is all we need. Doesn't cost a penny, and we don't have to make anymore false promises."

"I just don't like having important projects stolen from under my nose and given away, especially to people who I don't know and don't trust. I also don't like it when other people force me to break my promises, Admiral Sutherland." Xin flicked a finger at the head of the table.

"Admiral Xin, you sound as if you considered Coordinators human."

"I…wouldn't go that far. But I generally reward people who help me, not blow them up. It sounds like one of Bogolyubsky's family stories of the USSR."

The man on the left laughed. "Yes, it does sound like a story I know. Several stories, actually. But you're too worked up, Xin. Coordinators, it doesn't matter how they die. They will soon enough."

"Xin, just put it behind you. It would've happened sooner or later. It just happened sooner. Getting back to the matters at hand, I'd like to know the progress of your R&D." Sutherland indicated to the collection of images scattered in front of Xin.

"It's going faster, now that we understand the principles of the OS. We should have a prototype mobile suit ready in a few months. If one of our Morgenroete models survived, we could probably have a suit done in two weeks."

"And the timetable for mass production?"

"About a year at the current rate, perhaps nine months if we can recover a G-unit."

"Excellent. I'm looking forward to having mobile suits in my arsenal. That should stick it to those arrogant bastards." Bogolyubsky rubbed his hands and smiled widely.

"As do I. How goes the installation of the Cyclops system, General?"

"It's nearly finished, Admiral Sutherland. Pretty much all that's left to do is reel the bastards in and blow them to bits!"

"Excellent. For the sake of our blue and pure world, we must taint our hands in red blood. May history look kindly on us."

"No one is ever going to hear that, you know. The minutes don't exist for historians to research. Hahaha!" The bearded general roared at his minor joke, though the other two didn't do anything but smile.

* * *

Happy two year anniversary, loyal readers! We now have a time setting for this story, which is currently on February 12, CE 71. Honestly, I didn't plan for this chapter to be about the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, but the anniversary crept up on me. It gave me a foundation to start writing this chapter, so I hoped you enjoyed it. 

It's been a pretty prolific summer, hasn't it? A total of seven chapters written over eleven weeks. I'm back in school now, so my pace might slow a bit. Please be patient, there's a lot more to come.

The preliminary sketch of Terra Weid has been made and posted on Deviantart. It's only a side profile view, but I'll put up a full version soon. Other random things that I've drawn have also been put up, though none are really good, because they were all done in school, without proper tools or concern for quality. Check them out and tell me what you think.

(1)Captain Mauro is from the Oceania Union, one of the PLANTS' allies on Earth.

(2)Because N-Jammer Canceller is, was, and always will be, a mouthful.


End file.
